Mashrafe’s income falls by more than 50pc in five years

Cricketer-turned-politician Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s income has more than halved since he became a ruling party MP, according to the affidavit he submitted ahead of the Jan 7 election.

And he did not acquire any new assets in this period, he mentioned in the documents submitted with his nomination papers for the 12th parliamentary election.

He had no debt five years ago, but now owes City Bank nearly Tk 9 million.

His bank savings fell and so did earnings from the stock market. 

The 40-year-old former Tigers’ skipper was also getting less money from cricket since retirement from international duty.

“The chief source of my income is cricket. I don’t play for Bangladesh anymore and have no board contract. So my income dropping is natural,” he said.

“I only play in the Bangladesh Premier League and Dhaka Premier League now. The payment from these two tournaments and my salary and allowances as an MP are my sources of income. I have no other profession, so the odds of my earnings rising are next to none.”

“Since the time I stepped out of Bangladesh cricket, I haven’t been able to buy any land. The land I had before is mentioned in the affidavit.”

Mashrafe ran in the 2018 election and won the Narail-2 parliamentary seat as an Awami League candidate.

As per the election code, nominees must file an affidavit containing eight types of information, including educational qualifications, whether they were charged in any criminal case or are facing trial, along with information on personal income and that of those who are dependent on them.

The ruling party has once again selected Mashrafe for the constituency. Thus the previous affidavit and the latest one have produced an opportunity to analyse his financial details.

According to the affidavit, Mashrafe’s annual income stands at Tk 8.85 million, or Tk 737,000 a month, less than half of Tk 1.6 million in 2018.

He showed an annual earning of Tk 1.4 million from the capital market, Tk 2.3 million from job and gratuities and Tk 5.14 million from other sources.

In 2018, he showed Tk 520,000 in earnings from the agricultural sector, Tk 720,000 from business, Tk 3.17 million from cricket and Tk 15.5 million from other sources.

Despite the fall in income, Mashrafe showed assets worth Tk 94.26 million in the affidavit, which was Tk 91.45 million five years ago.

He owns a 2,900 square feet flat worth Tk 10.8 million in Mirpur and a Tk 824,000 plot in Purbachal. He also owns an old six-floor building which was constructed for Tk 4.75 million.

He has 3.61 acres of farm land worth Tk 3.7 million. Five years ago, Mashrafe showed the same properties.

His bank savings also dropped from Tk 63.72 million to Tk 10.37 million in five years. Mashrafe showed Tk 18.05 million in cash, which was Tk 13.78 million during the last election.

He invested Tk 250,000 in bonds and has national savings certificates worth Tk 24.58 million.

He has a car, two microbuses and a Jeep, which cost Tk 17.5 million. He did not buy any new cars in five years.