Mushfiqur Rahim

Hailing from Bangladesh, Mushfiqur Rahim is quick and furious behind the stumps, and an equally adequate batsman, who plays both pace and spin impressively, and has been performing for his national team for nearly two decades. 

Mushfiqur has found himself in action for most of the historic moments. The prolific cricketer was the protagonist during Bangladesh’s win over India in the 2007 World Cup. However, he also had his moments to cherish as well, when he enjoyed with his ‘Naagin Dance’ moves. 

As a 16-year-old, Mushfiqur made his Test debut in 2005 at Lord’s and made his maiden ODI appearance in August 2006. He got his first T20I cap in November. Mushfiqur became a straightaway fit in the shorter formats but had to wait till Khaleel Mashud’s last game in 2007. 

In 2007, the batter was included for the World Cup squad, where he had a subtle tournament, despite his most-celebrated 56 not-out against India. Following the mega-event, he had a very lean-patch which led him to get dropped. Mushfiqur made a comeback in the Asia Cup 2008, held in Pakistan. 

In August 2009, Mushfiqur was named the vice-captain of Bangladesh during the tour of Zimbabwe and was also at duty during the home series against India in 2010, where he cracked his maiden Test ton. Mushfiqur was also part of the 2011 World Cup squad.

In September 2011, Mushfiqur was named the captain for the Zimbabwean tour, and under his captaincy, Bangladesh first time reached the final of the Asia Cup, during the 2012 edition. In May 2013, he resigned from the job of leadership, but a few days later, Mushfiqur accepted that it was a huge blunder and BCB named him the skipper again. He also led Bangladesh in the Super10 stage during the 2014 World T20. 

During the 2015 World Cup, Mushfiqur had a prolific tournament Down Under, where he compiled a total of 298 runs in his six outings, including his heroics alongside Mahmudullah when the duo laid a 141-run foundation to beat England for the second consecutive time in the World Cup history. 

Next year, in the World T20, held in India, Mushfiqur had his much-embarrassing moment, when he scored an eventful 11 runs against the hosts in Bangalore. Bangladesh were cruising towards victory as Mushfiqur smashed two back-to-back boundaries off Hardik Pandya in the last over, but enjoyed it too soon. He got out when they needed 3 off 3 balls, and then the game changed on its head. 

In 2017, Mushfiqur had an exceptional Champions Trophy, where he smacked two fifties in four outings, which led his side to their second latest entry in an ICC knockout game, that too straight in a row. Mushfiqur also had an astonishing World Cup campaign in 2019, when he scored tons of runs, including his unbeaten ton against Australia, apart from two other half-centuries.  

Initially, Mushfiqur Rahim might have been inconsistent at both his batting and glovework, but as his career progressed, he refurbished his skill sets. Over the years, he has been playing a vital role in Bangladesh’s success. He has also worked extremely hard behind the stumps, to be regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers. 

(As of March 2021)