Mohammad Rafique
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Rafique (born September 5, 1970) is a Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

i cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er. He is the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

.

International career

A slow-left-arm orthodox bowler, Rafique was one of the few Bangladeshi players in the ICC bowler rankings' top fifty. He has become a permanent fixture in the national team, and is a household name in Bangladesh. To date he is the only Bangladeshi player to have taken 100 wickets in both Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

s and One Day Internationals. He has also achieved the double of 100 wickets and 1000 runs in both formats.

One of the most senior players in the Bangladesh team, Rafique was better known for his abilities in ODIs early in his career. He was nevertheless selected to play in Bangladesh's inaugural Test against India, and showed his promise with three wickets.

His career was almost derailed soon afterwards, when he was reported to the ICC for a suspect action. He was tardy in taking remedial action, and was out of the national team until 2002, when he was picked for the home series against South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. His return to cricket was classy and promising, with a six-wicket haul in the second Test against South Africa. He has not looked back since. He was the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in the home Test series against India, and the second highest during the away tour to Zimbabwe.

Rafique is also known as a handy, hard-hitting lower-order batsman. His 77 versus Kenya in May 1998 at Hyderabad was instrumental in Bangladesh's first ever ODI win against Kenya. With the ball, he took 3/56, and was adjudged the man of the match. He also scored a Test century against the West Indies in Bangladesh's drawn Test. Also he scored 65 against Australia in 2005-6, including six sixes. He was instrumental in steering the Tigers to a series whitewash against the Kenyans, and recorded his best match figures in Tests against Australia in a match they only narrowly lost

Rafique had a successful 2007 World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...

, taking eight wickets and helping Bangladesh to win games against India and South Africa. Rafique has also been honoured for his contribution to the cricket world with squad places in both the World XI for the Super Series against Australia in 2005, and the Asia XI for the exhibition series against Africa XI in 2007.

Rafique announced his international retirement on February 7, 2008. Bangladesh's home series against South Africa will be his last for the national team. He became the first Bangladeshi to ever take the milestone of 100 test wickets by having Robin Peterson
Robin Peterson
Robin John Peterson is a South African cricketer who bowls left arm spin. He is also a more than capable batsman, with a first class batting average of 26.35 as of 6 November 2005. His first class bowling average is a modest 36.36, however, and in Test matches it stands at 50.37...

 caught at first slip by Junaid Siddique
Junaid Siddique
Mohammad Junaid Siddique is a Bangladeshi cricketer of Pakistani descent. Junaid's grandfather and father originally originate from Sialkot Punjab Pakistan, but migrated to East Pakistan in 1968 which is now Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He is sometimes referred to by his...

 on the 1st of March during the second test. Out of 53 players who have scored 1,000 runs and taken 100 wickets in Test cricket, Rafique was the first to have represented Bangladesh.

Rafique was banned—with 13 professional players—for ten years from all forms of cricket by the Bangladesh Cricket Board
Bangladesh Cricket Board
Bangladesh Cricket Board , previously known as the Bangladesh Cricket Control Board, is the main governing body of cricket in Bangladesh. The Board has its headquarters in Dhaka, it is responsible for the operation and development of cricket, maintenance of of venues, and selection for the...

 following his enrollment in the Indian Cricket League
Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India...

 (ICL) in August 2008, but renounced his ties with the ICL a year later and has since been accepted back into the fold. He is still playing first-class cricket for Dhaka Division
Dhaka Division cricket team
The Dhaka Division cricket team is a first class cricket team representing the Dhaka Division region in Bangladesh.The club plays most of its home games at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.-Honours:...

 and recently starred in the Big Boss T20 Premier League with a match-winning performance for Abahani Limited in the final. http://www.cricinfo.com/bangladesh/content/story/430751.html However the players announced there departures from the Indian Cricket League
Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India...

 in June 2009

Other levels of cricket

He started his career as a left arm seamer with the 2nd Division side, Bangladesh Sporting, in 1985. In 1988, he joined Bangladesh Biman cricket team. There, under the influence of the Pakistani allrounder Wasim Haider
Wasim Haider
Wasim Haider is a former Pakistani right arm fast medium bowler in cricket who played three One Day International matches during the 1992 Cricket World Cup.- External links :...

 he converted to slow orthodox spin bowling.

In Dec. 1994 he played for the Bangladesh team in the 2nd SAARC cricket tournament. His 3/25 against India "A" helped Bangladesh win a vital game.

He was one of outstanding successes of the Bangladesh team that won the 1997 ICC Trophy
ICC Trophy
The ICC World Cup Qualifier is an international one-day cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. Any Associate or Affiliate member of the ICC may attempt to qualify for the ICC Trophy by means of a system of regional qualifying events. The test-playing Full...

. Overall, in 9 matches, he took 19 wickets at an average of 10.68. His best 4/25 came in the Semi-Final against Scotland. With his spinning partner Enamul Haque
Enamul Haque
Enamul Haque is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 10 Tests and 29 ODIs from 1990 to 2003....

 Moni taking 12 wickets in the tournament, it was a great truimph for spin bowling. In the final against Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...

he came good with the bat. Sent in to open, in a rain shortened game, he blasted 26 of only 15 deliveries, smashing couple of huge sixes.

Awards

  • BCB Cricketer of the Year (2005)
  • BCB Bowler of the Year (2006)
  • BCB All-Rounder of the Year (2006)

External links

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