Bangladesh cricket is currently at its pinnacle and is firing on all cylinders in all the three formats. The sub-continent nation has become a power house at home and has made a huge impact in ICC events as well.
The slow and steady improvement in the quality of Bangladeshi cricketers is the reason behind this transformation. Moreover, the current crop of players have all the skills required to upset the big guns of international cricket.
Though few cricketers from the past were effective as well, the shortcomings of the unit as a whole overshadowed their individual brilliance.
But who makes it to the list of the greatest Bangladeshi cricketers of all time? We find out.
10 Khaled Mashud
Khaled Mashud was Bangladesh’s best wicket-keeper batsmen during the first half of the 2000s. A reliable man behind the stumps and an even more reliable man with the bat at number seven, Mashud was one of the most disciplined cricketers of his era.
During Bangladesh’s first Test in South Africa, Mashud battled for three hours to score 33 runs, an inning that demonstrated his solid skills and determined approach. His only hundred in Tests came against West Indies in 2004, when he batted for more than six hours and scored 103*, an inning that saved Bangladesh from a defeat.
Arguably, his best ODI inning came in 2005, a 71* against an Australian attack that consisted of Bret Lee, Jason Gillespie, and Michael Kasprowicz. However, his low strike-rate affected his performances throughout his career.
In a career that lasted for a decade, Mashud featured in 44 Tests and 126 ODIs and scored more than 3000 international runs. However, his major contribution lies in his ability to bat at the tail without losing his patience.
9 Mahmudullah
A roller coaster ride of success and failure has kept Mahmudullah in and out of the national team since his debut. When on the song, he is a solid and composed batsman in the middle order scoring decisive runs and in bowling, his off-spin is too hot to handle for the batsmen.
However, he has often failed to deliver what he promises.
Despite the failures, he is an effective utility cricketer for Bangladesh who can tilt the fate of the game with his smart and bold approach. By claiming eight wickets in his debut Test against West Indies in 2009, he showed glimpses of his talent and was the chief architect of Bangladesh’s maiden ODI series win against West Indies in 2012. His century against England in the 2015 world cup laid the foundation of a memorable ODI win for Bangladesh
A tally of 131 international wickets and more than five thousand runs in all formats make him one of the finest all-rounders from the sub-continent.
8 Mohammad Ashraful
On a quiet afternoon in Dhaka in 2007, players, spectators, officials and the media personals waited nonchalantly for the formalities to get over. The defeat looked certain for the home team who while following on had slipped to ten for three down while being more than 400 runs behind India.
Then walked to the crease Mohammad Ashraful. With nothing to lose, he started throwing his bat at everything. There was innovation, power, and smartness. His initial boundaries went unnoticed but as the audacity of his batting and the frequency of his boundaries increased, everyone at the ground was forced to take note of this little cameo.
It ended as surprisingly as it had started. It lasted for less than an hour, made little impact on the outcome of the game but it inked Ashraful’s name in the history of cricket for producing the fastest fifty in Tests in terms of minutes.
That was Ashraful unplugged. In the same year, in South Africa, he produced the fastest fifty in T20s off 20 balls to reduce West Indies to a pulp. Two years back, in 2005 at Cardiff, England, he stunned the world champion Australia and the world with a run-a-ball hundred that resulted in one of the most memorable upsets in modern cricket.
An inning of similar magnitude came against South Africa at Guyana in the 2007 World cup. The knock of 87 off 83 balls allowed Bangladesh to shock South Africa and register another dramatic win.
This was what Ashraful was capable of. At his peak, he could swing the fate of the game as quickly as he demoralized bowling units and on several occasions, he did that. In a glorious style and with a charm. He was truly the ‘wonder boy’ of Bangladesh cricket.
But along with his fearless approach, innovative stroke play and a complete disregard for the bowlers, he had the habit of throwing away his wicket. A flaw that became a trademark and ended up plaguing the right-hand batsman’s career.
Ashraful ended his career with a batting average of 24 in Tests and 22.23 in ODIs, a serious injustice to his abilities. He scored 3468 ODI runs and 2737 Test runs in his decade-long international career. And also has under his belt nine international hundreds, each one special in its own way.
7 Abdur Razzak
Abdur Razzak’s tall bowling action and his effective skills made him a force to reckon with during the 2000s, an era when he was the lead-spinner for Bangladesh. His variation and tight lines ensured batsmen had little options of scoring runs against him and hence Razzak was one of the first high-quality spinners produced by the sub-continent nation.
He claimed 15 wickets in the ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2009 and was instrumental in setting up a series win for Bangladesh. He was the man-of-the-series for his performances.
His economy rate in ODIs in 4.56, a highly impressive number given the fact the kind of surfaces he bowled on and he has 207 wickets in 153 ODI games with a staggering strike rate of 38.4.
6 Habibul Bashar
Bashar was a genuine batsman in a team where the technique was a rarity and could play all strokes from the coaching manuals. Importantly he converted his potential into performances and was known as ‘Mr. Fifty’ for his ability to score the fifties frequently.
His century in the Karachi Test against Pakistan in 2003 was the highlight of his career and that innings proved how crucial he is for Bangladesh. With that century, Bashar ensured his team stayed in the contest. Also, his first international hundred, which came against Zimbabwe in 2001 was effective as well.
He scored more than three thousand five hundred runs in ODIs and more than 2000 runs in Tests and during his era, was Bangladesh’s premiere batsmen but his average in ODIs remained a little above 20, a serious injustice to his batting talent.
5 Mohammad Rafique
Before the Shakibs and the Mehedi Hasans took the cricket world by frenzy with their spin bowling, it was Mohammad Rafique who kept Bangladesh’s spin bowling department ticking during their initial years in international cricket. A classical left-arm spinner, Rafique spearheaded Bangladesh’s spin department for more than a decade.
However, he failed to convert his abilities and skills into statistics and ended with a bowling average of 40.76 in Tests and 37.91 in ODIs.His five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe in 2005 helped the sub-continent nation win their first Test and the spinner ended his career with 225 international wickets.
4 Mashrafe Mortaza
Mortaza is the symbol of Bangladesh’s struggles and the sensational transformation they have gone through in the last few years. Despite plagued with injuries and other issues, the pace bowler kept on bowling fast and accurately and has spearheaded the nation’s bowling department on several occasions.
In 2004, Bangladesh defeated India for the first time in ODIs and Mortaza played a vital part in the game by claiming two wickets. Three years later, he picked four wickets against the same opponent in the 2007 world cup and allowed Bangladesh to shock the world by registering a dramatic win.
In 2006, he registered the figures of six for 26 against Kenya at Nairobi and inked his name in the record books.
Currently, he also shoulders the responsibility of grooming and developing young talent and several youngsters have credited their success to the professional and disciplined atmosphere Mortaza has created in Bangladesh’s dressing room.
3 Mushfiqur Rahim
Pocket-size dynamite from Bangladesh, Mushfiqur Rahim is a reliable man behind the wickets as well as in the middle order. He averages 35.65 in the Tests and 32.10 in ODIs, a significant achievement for a batsman who generally bats lower down the order and mostly with the tail-enders.
He made his international debut at the age of 16 and since then has been a valuable member of his side. His 44 international fifties in 266 innings, speak highly about his ability to repair the damage and bat with solidarity.
He has scored more than 3000 runs in Tests and more than 4000 runs in ODIs, and is currently one of the pillars in batting department for Bangladesh.
In 2014, he scored an attacking hundred against India in the Aisa cup ODI in a losing cause. In the 2015 world cup, he amassed 298 runs, the second most by a Bangladeshi batsman at a strike rate of more than hundred.
Later in the year, he slammed 106 runs against Pakistan at Dhaka helped in setting up a massive win for the home team.
2 Tamim Iqbal
Bangladesh’s greatest batsman ever, Tamim Iqbal is the first and the only Bangladeshi player to have scored more than ten thousand international runs. He has scored 5743 runs in ODIs and 3847 runs in Tests.
The left-hand opening batsman made his debut a decade back but blossomed in the last few years. He has been a prolific run-scorer in all formats and courtesy of him, there is solidarity in Bangladesh’s batting order.
His courageous half-century against India in the 2007 world cup enabled Bangladesh to register a historic and dramatic ODI victory. In the last few years, his runs at the top have ended up sealing victories for Bangladesh.
Tamim’s knock of 104 was instrumental in Bangladesh’s first Test win against England in 2016 and in 2017, he scored half-centuries in both innings in Bangladesh’s maiden Test win against Australia. His double-hundred in the Khulna Test in 2015 saved the Test against Pakistan.
He has scored the most number of international hundreds (18) for the nation and also the most number of fifties (66) as well.
1 Shakib Al Hasan
Arguably the greatest all-rounder produced by Bangladesh and their biggest match-winner as well, Shakib Al Hasan is the essential cog in Bangladesh’s team for all three formats.
Despite featuring in Tests for more than a decade, he has played only 51 Tests. But his tally of 188 wickets and 3594 runs puts him among the best all all-rounders across the world. His left-arm bowling is highly effective and he has more than 200 ODI wickets and batting in the middle-order has rescued the team on several occasions. He has scored close to five thousand ODI runs.
In Bangladesh first overseas Test win in 2009, Shakib claimed eight wickets and then scored 96* in the fourth-innings against West Indies and in 2007, he picked up seven wickets in one inning in the Test against New Zealand. Against the same opponents in the Champions trophy game in 2017, he smashed 114 runs to set-up a successful chase.
In 2011, Shakib scored 144 runs against Pakistan at Dhaka and also picked up seven wickets in the same Test. In the Test series against England in 2017, he picked 12 wickets while in Bangladesh’s first Test win against Australia in 2017, he picked ten wickets.
