Desk Report,
New inspiration for Miraj
As soon as he got off the stage, Mehedi Hasan Miraj requested Prothom Alo photographer Shamsul Haque, “Brother, please send the pictures…” By then, his wife Rabeya Preeti had received a call from the phone left on the chair. Miraj was the first to tell him about being the runner-up of the year at the City Group-Prothom Alo Sports Award.
New inspiration for Miraj
While sharing his feelings about receiving the award, Miraj, the all-rounder of the Bangladesh team, said, “I have been runner-up twice before. I didn’t get to be the champion! But it feels great. It always feels good to come here.” So, would he want to be the best of the year next time? Although he smiled brightly when asked, he didn’t say anything. He might have made that claim by performing on the field.
Miraj sat with teammate Taskin Ahmed throughout the event. Former national team captain Habibul Bashar was the first to call Miraj to the stage. Two runners-up in the Prothom Alo Sports Award were announced by then. But who else? Miraj got the responsibility of announcing the next name from Habibul. With a little drama, he announced, ‘I was sitting next to… Taskin.’ Miraj had to express his feelings at the beginning after his teammate came on stage. He came to the event with that hesitation whether to receive the award or not. When he was invited again last night, he was still repeatedly asking whether he would receive the award or not.
The doubt ended after receiving the award yesterday. However, at first, he himself could not remember why he received this award, ‘I don’t remember what I did in 2024!’ After a while, he remembered last year. He recognized one of his performances as one of the best in his career, ‘I became the Man of the Series with Pakistan. This is one of the best achievements of my life.’ Bangladesh did not have a Test victory against Pakistan. Last year, Bangladesh got the taste of whitewashing in a two-Test series on their soil. Miraj won the Man of the Series award with 155 runs with the bat and 10 wickets with the ball. The whole year was actually colorful for him. He is the only Bangladeshi to score more than a thousand runs (1025) in three editions in 2024. He has taken 31 wickets with 614 runs in 10 matches in the Test format. His wickets last year were 40 in three editions.
Before receiving the award, Miraj was an attentive spectator and watched the City Group-Prothom Alo Sports Awards. Thanking the sponsors City Group and Prothom Alo for such a colorful event, he said, ‘Everyone from other sports is also inspired by this event. I like it very much.’ And receiving recognition becomes an inspiration for himself as well, ‘When you receive such an award, you get new inspiration, it gives more inspiration in your performance on the field.’
