Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Md Atiqul Islam on Sunday directed the department concerned of DNCC to take steps to preserve the grave of former Bangladesh national cricketer Mosharraf Hossain Rubel on humanitarian grounds.

Earlier, Rubel's wife Chaiti Farhana had verbally appealed to the mayor through the media to preserve Rubel's grave permanently.

Also read:Cricketer Mosharraf succumbs to brain cancer

Expressing grief over the death of cricketer Rubel, the mayor said, "Mosharraf Hossain Rubel did not play for himself, he played for the country. His contribution has made the people of the country proud. That is why I think it is our responsibility to preserve his grave permanently.”

Mayor Md Atiqul Islam is currently in Mecca to perform Umrah. He said proper measures will be taken as per the rules to preserve the grave after he returns to the country.

On April 19, former cricketer Mosharraf Hossain Rubel died of brain cancer at hospital in the capital. He was 40.

He was laid to rest at Banani Graveyard in the city. It costs about Tk one crore to buy land in this graveyard. The grave of Rubel will be removed to bury others after two years which made his wife appeal for preserving the grave permanently.

Mosharraf got the first of his 5 caps for Bangladesh, all in ODIs, back in 2008.

His last international appearance was in 2016, when he was called up abruptly for a series against Afghanistan. Before this series, he was out of the national set-up for more than eight years.

Also read:Mosharraf Hossain Rubel: The late cricketer's major achievements as a player

An allrounder who bowled left-arm spin and batted left-handed, Mosharraf was the player of the final in the Bangladesh Premier League 2013. He had numerous match-winning performances in the domestic level in a career spanning more than 15 years.

Mosharraf bagged more than 500 wickets in competitive cricket, with 20 five-fors. He also had two First-class centuries and 16 half-centuries under his belt.