bdnews24.com
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim ended a successful year by
completing his Masters degree in History from Jahangirnagar University
on Sunday.
According to a report on the ESPNcricinfo website, the chirpy
wicketkeeper-batsman’s area of specialisation was in contemporary
South Asian history, and he finished with an impressive CGPA of 3.49.
The Man of the Series in ODI series against West Indies, thanked his
class-mates and teachers for their support.
“This degree is a huge honour for me,” Mushfiqur said during a
reception at the university.
“Apart from my efforts, I would give credit to the university teachers
and my friends who guided and assisted me. I couldn’t attend most of
the classes, and had to take notes from my friends while the
university authorities made sure my attendance wasn’t an issue.”
Mushfiqur described the scramble ahead of exams, most of which he had
to appear in isolation as he would usually miss the scheduled dates.
“You wouldn’t believe it but when I was returning from tours, I had to
study at planes and airports, because I had exams the following day.
“Between matches maybe everyone else was free to roam around whichever
country we were playing in, but I had to take notes and stay back in
the hotel to study. But my team-mates were nice, they never teased
me.”
He found inspiration from within his family and also from Kumar
Sangakkara, especially the manner in which the Sri Lankan cricketer
has carried himself over the years.
“It is appreciated that someone like Sangakkara’s sports personality
is shaped by his education. He is obviously an inspiration.
“After I had completed my Higher Secondary Certificate exam, I didn’t
want to pursue studies but I was reminded of its importance. My family
encouraged me, told me not to give up on studies. They are very proud
of me and I am inspiring my younger brothers and sisters in the family
by doing two things at a time.”
Mushfiqur hopes to work closer to his sport than history, saying that
the degree has taught him many lessons about life.
“I have to give cricket a lot of time but I learned a lot by going
through the process of graduating, and I want to do an MBA or a PhD,
preferably on something close to cricket so that I can add that to my
current profession.”
