and in one place a half-day strike. Comeback and re-emergence: 2012 Mortaza was recalled to the squad to face Australia in three ODIs in April. 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. Bangladesh lost the series 3–0 and in the third match, Mortaza took his 150th ODI wicket with the dismissal of Callum Ferguson. 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. The Bangladesh Cricket Board founded the six-team Bangladesh Premier League in 2012, a twenty20 tournament to be held in February that year. An auction was held for teams to buy players, and Mortaza was bought by the Dhaka Gladiators for $45,000. 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. Led by Mortaza, who took ten wickets from eleven matches, Dhaka won the BPL's inaugural season. 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. When the BCB announced its central contracts for 2012 in March, Mortaza retained his top-level contract. 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, and finished as Bangladesh's leading seamer with six wickets from four matches. 2015-2016 : Quarter finals and consecutive series wins Mashrafe led his team to the Quarter Finals of the World Cup for the first time when they beat Scotland, Afghanistan and England in the group stage. Although losing the quarter finals to India meant Bangladesh didn't proceed any further on the tournament, it was Bangladesh's highest achievement at that time on any world