After the Test series against Zimbabwe and one against New Zealand, Mortaza missed the series against Pakistan in January 2002 as he was suffering from a back injury. While recovering, Mortaza suffered a knee injury while skipping and required an operation. As a result, he was unable to play cricket for a further eight months. At this stage of his career, Mortaza had played four Tests and taken 12 wickets at an average of 31.16.[12]
Mortaza did not return to international cricket until the 2003 World Cup in South Africa during 2003. Bangladesh failed to progress past the round-robin stage,[13] and Mortaza played in two matches collecting two wickets at an average of 38.00.[14][15]
In October and November 2003, England toured Bangladesh for two-Tests and three ODIs.[16] In the second Test, Mortaza took what at the time was his best Test figures of 4/60[17] before succumbing to injury, collapsing with a twisted knee after delivering the ball.[18] Despite challenging England in the series, Bangladesh lost 2–0,[19] Mortaza finished the series with 8 wickets at an average of 21.25.[20] As a result, he was again out of international cricket; this time for over a year. Injuries in the first three years of his international career saw Mortaza only play 12 Tests and not more than four in a row.
In September 2005 a back injury meant that Mortaza had to return home from Bangladesh's tour of Sri Lanka before the start of the first Test. It was the sixth time he had been sent home in the middle of a series. The injury—a type of stress fracture expected to take between six and twelve weeks to heal[36]—saw Mortaza unable to play any cricket for several months.[37] He returned to the Bangladesh side in February 2006 for a series of ODIs against Sri Lanka.[14]
Australia visited Bangladesh in April 2006 and Mortaza played the whole series. Despite coming close to winning the first Test, Bangladesh ultimately lost both Tests in the series. In the final innings of the first Test, Mortaza dropped a difficult catch off Australian captain Ricky Ponting who went on to see his side to victory with 118 not out. Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, said of the dropped catch, "If he had taken it we could have seen a different situation, but I must say he tried hard and you all know that he is a whole-hearted cricketer".[38] Bangladesh lost the following three-match ODI series 3–0.[39]
In July and August 2006, Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe for a five-match ODI series. In the 3rd ODI, Mortaza was hit for six off the final ball of the match by Brendan Taylor, giving the Zimbabweans victory.[40] With Zimbabwe already winning the series 3–1, Mortaza was dropped for the final match, which Bangladesh went on to win.[41] In the four matches he played in, Mortaza took five wickets at an average of 29.20.[42] Following their defeat by Zimbabwe, Bangladesh faced Kenya in three ODIs, winning them all. Mortaza was instrumental in the second victory, coming in with the score on 120/7 chasing 185 to win. He guided his team home with an 43 not out, farming the strike to protect the Bangladesh tail.[43] Mortaza took career best bowling figures of 6/26 from his 10 overs in the final ODI, ensuring Bangladesh were chasing a low target.[44] His figures are also the best in ODIs by any Bangladesh cricketer.[45] In the calendar year of 2006 Mortaza was the world's highest wicket taker in ODIs, collecting 49 wickets. The haul was the most ever in a calendar year by a Bangladeshi, and 17th most for anyone.[46]
ak accident shortly before the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, Mortaza sprained his ankle on the stairs at home. As a result, he was ruled out of the warm up matches before the tournament which was held on October.[47] Mortaza recovered in time to play in all three of Bangladesh's matches, taking two wickets at 50.50, as Bangladesh failed to progress beyond the first round
Once his knee had recovered, Mortaza suffered another setback when he was prevented playing against New Zealand in February 2010 due to a fever.[97] Mortaza made his comeback from injury in a match for Bangladesh Cricket Board XI against England during their tour of Bangladesh. Following the match, he commented that he had no interest in regaining the captaincy as in his opinion Shakib Al Hasan had done a good job. He also said that if his injury problems persisted he would contemplate retiring from Test cricket to focus on ODIs and T20s, similar to fellow fast bowlers Shane Bond, Shaun Tait, Andrew Flintoff, and Brett Lee.[98] Mortaza declined to play in the Test series to avoid aggravating his knee injury, but played only the first out of the three ODIs against England before withdrawing from Bangladesh's squad as he was about to be dropped.[99][100] Bangladesh lost the one match Mortaza played in, and the captain criticised his bowling. Shakib Al Hasan said "The way Mashrafe bowled before his injury, that Mashrafe we might have missed tonight. But the way he bowled in the last match and the practice match, not really. He needs some time to get back to full confidence and rhythm. He needs to play some games and get match-fit again.
Mortaza continued to struggle for form in the 2010 Asia Cup, held in June, taking just two wickets in three matches at an average of 77.00. The coach, Jamie Siddons, commented that "He's going to have to improve a lot on his current form. Unfortunately there's no ready replacement for Mashrafe at the moment, we're hoping his experience will pull him through. We'll keep looking for others and if Mash can't stand up we'll have to replace him."[100] Siddons also noted that since his comeback in 2010, Mortaza's bowling has not been as fast as it used to be.[101] In the one-day leg of the return tour in England in July 2010, Mortaza regain the captaincy of the ODI side.[100] He took over from Shakib Al Hasan who had stepped down after a dip in form.[101] In the second ODI Bangladesh ended their 24-match losing streak;[102] Mortaza led his country to their first victory over England in any form of cricket.[103] However, Bangladesh were unable to seal a series victory and lost 2–1. Mortaza finished as joint-lead wicket-taker for the series with five wickets, equal with England's Ajmal Shahzad.[104] Later the same month, Bangladesh played two ODIs against Ireland, and one against the Netherlands; the team managed only one victory against Ireland. Analysing Bangladesh's performance on the tour, Mortaza noted his concern about the effectiveness of the team's bowling.[105]
In the opening game of Bangladesh's five-match ODI series against New Zealand in October 2010, Mortaza suffered an ankle injury. As a result, he was unable to play again in the series and Shakib Al Hasan took over.[106] Bangladesh won 4–0,[107] a historic win as Bangladesh had never before won a series against a full-strength Test nation.[108] At the start of November, the BCB announced 16 central contracts. Mortaza was one of six players in the top level.[109] He returned to the Bangladesh squad for Zimbabwe's tour of the country in December 2010, but Shakib Al Hasan retained the captaincy.[110] By his own admission, Mortaza struggled for form early in the series but believed that he would improve with match practice.[111] After losing the opening match of the series, Bangladesh won the next three encounters and beat Zimbabwe 3–1;[112] Mortaza finished with three wickets from four matches at an average of 32.66.[113] At the end of the series Shakib praised the performance of his fast bowlers in the closing matches.[112] While batting for Abahani in a Dhaka Premier Division League match in December, Mortaza suffered a tear of his knee ligament.[114] When the injury meant he was omitted from Bangladesh's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup in February, Mortaza said that it was "the most painful day" of his life.[115] He hoped to recover in time, and when it was announced that Mortaza had not been included in the World Cup squad there was rioting in Bangladesh and in one place a half-day strike.[116]
Mortaza was recalled to the squad to face Australia in three ODIs in April.[117] He finished as the team's leading wicket-taker with five wickets at an average of 29.00 from two matches, however he conceded runs at more than eight an over, the second highest in the series of those who had bowled at least ten over.[118] Bangladesh lost the series 3–0 and in the third match, Mortaza took his 150th ODI wicket with the dismissal of Callum Ferguson.[119] The knee injury incurred in December required surgery which was deferred until May; the operation left him unable to play cricket until at least October.[120]
The Bangladesh Cricket Board founded the six-team Bangladesh Premier League in 2012, a twenty20 tournament to be held in February that year.[121] An auction was held for teams to buy players,[122] and Mortaza was bought by the Dhaka Gladiators for $45,000.[123] On his return to competitive cricket Mortaza was made captain of Dhaka Gladiators. Before the tournament had started, he reported to have been approached with a request to participate in spot-fixing.[124] Led by Mortaza, who took ten wickets from eleven matches,[125] Dhaka won the BPL's inaugural season.[126] Shortly after the tournament concluded, Bangladesh hosted the 2012 Asia Cup; after losing to Pakistan the previous December, five new players called into Bangladesh's 15-man squad, including Mortaza who was making his come back to the national side after injury.[127] When the BCB announced its central contracts for 2012 in March, Mortaza retained his top level contract.[128] Against expectations Bangladesh progressed to the cup final against Pakistan; it was just the second time Bangladesh had reached the final of a tournament. Though he had played in the BPL, bowling ten overs in the ODIs as opposed to just four per match proved to be a challenge for Mortaza. Though in the penultimate game he struggled he regained full fitness to bowl in the final,[129] and finished as Bangladesh's leading seamer with six wickets from four matches.
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