In the Asia Cup game mashrafe mortaza against Sri Lanka there were tell-tale signs of distress

One of the hardest tasks for a reporter sitting in the press box at the Shere Bangla Stadium, the highest point of the arena, keeping the players as they enter and exit the locker room. The numbers on the players back to help a bit, but with someone like Mashrafe Mortaza, it is an unpleasant chore. You do not want the person to tell everyone that he stumbled back, his.In the Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka, there were tell-tale signs of fear, he kept his leg, bent a few times trying to get the blood flow inside his knees, and walked away once or twice. If he could not complete his full quota of ten overs, Mushfiqur Rahim would have the difficult task of finding another option. But Mashrafe trudged back of the viewing area with some more strapping on his right knee, bowled two spells of two overs each, and finished with a two-run, two-wicket over the last innings ended with a ball to spare.Mortaza Mushfiqur asked to the side to talk during the break. It was the game that Bangladesh would take in a tournament final for the first time in their history. On a day when inspiration is needed, that better meet the team a boost than a man who had seven operations on his knees and three had on his ankles?Surprising run of Bangladesh in the Asia Cup had a few unsung heroes, and while Mashrafe was one of them, the fact that he was sufficiently recovered to play in itself was surprising. Not many would have thought possible when he sat with reporters fitness sessions between the end of last year, when Bangladesh were being prepared for the West Indies and Pakistan play.What followed was a carefully achieved recovery that went against the grain of what Mashrafe is like as a person. "I wanted to do was back in the day," he told ESPNcricinfo during a break between fitness sessions in Mirpur. "Never gave two Hoots about injuries. I have no importance to a good time to recover."I think that such a positivity has helped me. Can some think I'm crazy, but I think that if I'm not positive, I would not be able to come back every time."Mashrafe trust to come up with such a pearl. Over the years, he is our team of characters, a man who is always comfortable when he himself, from devil-may-care in the field (once he dove head-on towards the border, there was a roller was just past ) and dashing off ...