Bangladesh only emerged as a sovereign independent nation on December 16th, 1971. The 9 month long war which preceded the emergence saw the country devastated. Like other fields, the cricketing infrastructure was demolished. In fact, Halim Chowdhury Jewel, a prominent figure in Dhaka cricket in the 60's, died during our liberation war. Young Raqibul, who was expected to tour England with the Pak team during the summer, instead had to flee to Calcutta to save his live form the Pak military.

To compound the matter more, there was a section of intellectuals in the new born country who were against cricket. Some socialist politicians described cricket as a 'symbol of imperialism' and attempted to ban cricket in the country. At one stage, the cricketers came to the streets with bats, balls and pads to protest such insanity. Fortunately, there was enough wisdom at the high level to not to fall for cheap slogans, and gradually cricket activities restarted at Dhaka, and then in other parts of the country.

The tour by MCC during the 1976-77 winter marked the entrance of Bangladesh in the international cricket arena. In the initial years, most of the international cricket played by our boys was mostly exhibition staff. Only exception was the series against the Lankans in Jan, 1978. As for local cricket, again the structure was very much at the nascent stages. Still, amidst all the confusions, self doubts, ups and downs , a group of cricketers showed the road to glory for the next generation. The achievement by our first generation cricketers is modest, by any standards. Yet, it was these players that started our glorious journey to cricketing successes. Here, I have selected 11 players who were prominent in the early days of our cricket history.

Shamim Kabir: Being the first captain of the national team, I thought it is his prerogative to be a part of this side, in fact be the captain of the side. Against MCC, in Dhaka, in Jan 1977, he scored 25 and 30. Although he did not play international cricket after this season, he continued to play club cricket for Azad Boys club. After his retirement, he worked as a cricket administrator, and helped build the infrastructure of our local cricket.

Back in the 60's he played 1st class cricket. His highest score of 89 came for East Pakistan (Green) against the East Pakistan Railways in Jan, 1968.

Haleem Chaudhury (Shahid Jewel): Emotion has certainly played its part in this particular selection. After all, he never had the chance to play for Bangladesh, as he was killed during our liberation war. However, there can be no doubt that if he was alive, he would have certainly played for the national side (and probably he would have captained the side).

Due to his untimely death, we have to delve back to the East Pakistan days for his cricketing moments. Since his debut match in 1965, he played 1st class cricket regularly for different teams from East Pakistan. He opened with Shamim Kabir in his debut match. His most successful match was for East Pakistan Whites against Dacca University in Jan, 1971. He had scores of 47 and 65 in the match. He and his opening partner Rauf Ansari shared stands of 94 & 123 in the match. In Sept 1969, he shared a 50 run opening partnership with Raqibul Hassan, against Hyderabad Whites. Young Raqibul was in uncharacteristic aggressive mood and dominated the opening stand with a knock of 40.

Some people may object to Haleem's inclusion as one of our first generation cricketers, as he didn't lived to play cricket in independent Bangladesh. Yet, he was (and still is) such an inspiration to all our cricketers that it is virtually impossible to ignore him. He can be selected just as an inspirational figure.

Omar Khaled Rumy: There can be absolutely no doubt about this inclusion. A tall elegant right handed middle order bat and a leg spin bowler, he was country's best all rounder of his era, and was a regular feature of the national team in the early years.

The only regret regarding his batting is the fact that he never played a really long innings for his country. Batting mostly in No. 3 position, he would patiently build his innings, only to throw his wicket after reaching 20 or 30. Still, two innings of his deserves mentioning here.

In early February 1978, a Decan Blues side led by the former Indian captain Ajit Wadekar came to Dhaka (on their way home from a tour of the Far East). They played a 3 day match against the local side. This game was important for the local side as they sought to regain some of their lost confidence following a disastrous home series against Sri Lanka.

Batting first, the tourists scored 410/7, (Ajit Wadekar 103*, M.V. Narasimha Rao 83). In reply, the local side was in immediate trouble losing their openers cheaply. Rumy, batting at his usual No. 3 position, decided to take the bull by the horns. After playing one over calmly, he blasted three fours in the next. Skipper Raquibul Hasan, batting at the other end, was a mere spectator. Rumy only scored 32 before falling to the guile of Narasimha Rao  (Rao, the Hyderabad allrounder, was at that time on the verge of playing for the Indian test team.). But it was the best innings of the match. After Rumy's departure, Raquibul Hasan batted diligently to score 64, and Bangladesh saved the match by scoring 320 in the 1st innings. After the end of the tour, the opposition captain Ajit Wadekar described Rumy as the best Bangladeshi batsman.

The setting for his other memorable innings was the water Orton cricket ground in the English Midlands. It was Bangladesh's first ever international match abroad, against Fiji. On difficult conditions, Rumy  scored a patient 28. None of the other top order batsman reached double figures, and it was only the tail enders who took the score past the 100 mark. Rumy's effort was overshadowed by the brilliant bowling of Syed Ashraful Haque (7/23) which helped Bangladesh win the match. But Rumy's contribution to the victory should not be underestimated.

As a bowler his best season was in 1978/79. In slow turning pitches, he, along with left armer Lintu and off spinner Ashraful , completely mesmerized the touring MCC batsmen. Only the former test players, Sir Conrad Hunt (from WI) & John Jameson (Mumbai born Warwickshire opener) had the necessary technique to handle the spinning trio.

Still in his prime, Rumy suffered a bad finger injury during the 1980-81 season. Though he returned very soon, he was never the same player again. Soon, Gazi Ashraf Lipu took over the No. 3 spot in the national team. Lipu did an admirable job, but the absence of a match winning leg spinner hurt the Bangladesh national team greatly throughout the 80's.

Raqibul  Hasan: On Feb 1971, Raqibul became the first ( and the last) Bengali to play for the full strength Pak national team. Despite his failure in this match against the Commonwealth XI , he seemed a certainty for the upcoming tour of England in the summer.  Yet, instead of playing international cricket during the summer, he had to flee for his life. Returning from Calcutta, he was devastated by the news of the death of his mentor, Haleem Chaudhury. Yet showing great courage he devoted himself to building the cricketing infrastructure of the new born country. And it was quite appropriate that he was given the opportunity to lead the local side in our first ever international match. On Dec 31, 1976, he led the North Zone side in a 2 day match against our first visitors, the MCC team from England. It was an emotional moment for Raqibul, but he did not let emotion dominate him, and in the 2nd innings he top scored with 73. Later, he scored 74 at Jessore against the same opposition.

Though he was mainly an opening bat, his two most confident batting displays came in the No. 4 position. Following the disastrous home series against the more powerful Lankan side during January 1978, when our middle order looked very brittle, the selectors decided to put him to No. 4 position in the match against Ajit Wadekar's Decan Blues side in February. After the tourists scored 400+ in the 1st innings, Raqibul led a spirited reply with a gutsy 64. Rumy started it all with a breezy 32, but after his dismissal Raqibul took over the control. The lower middle order gave him good support, and together they tamed the dangerous leggie Narsimha Rao, whose 6 wickets could not prevent Bangladesh from reaching 300 for the 1st time.  (Ironically, the next time Bangladesh reached 300 in an international match,  against Kenya, at Nairobi, in Feb 1984, Raqibul again  scored  exactly 64).

He had a very successful 1980-81 season, and during the 3 day match at Chittagong against MCC, he looked all set to reach 3 figures. Eventually, he was denied, not by the opposition bowlers, but by the infamous weather of Chittagong. Unseasonal rain intervened on the 2nd morning, to leave Raqibul unbeaten on 78, his highest score in International cricket.

Raqibul retired from international cricket in 1986. He was still in his early 30's and could easily have played longer. But he felt that he had played his part, and the future was now in the hands of the youngsters. Also, the fact that the main focus at that time had shifted to One day Cricket did not suit him. A batsman in the Hanif Mohammad or Ken Barrington mould, he would have much preferred to concentrate on the longer version of the game.

Record books will tell us that in his 2 full ODIs he scored only 17 runs. His record in ICC trophy is hardly better, 340 runs at an average of 22.67, with a highest of 47*. But statistics will tell nothing about the true contribution of this man to Bangladesh cricket. For young cricketers of his time, he was a  role model, and he remains the same to the current generation, long after his retirement.

Mainul Haque Mainu: Like Shamim Kabir, he had a short stint in international cricket. He played against MCC at Dhaka. After that, he was the deputy of Raqibul in the 77-78 season. He scored 43 against the Lankans at Chttagong, in Jan 78. In Feb, he shared a century partnership with Raqibul against Decan Blues. At the end of the season, he went abroad and ended his international career.

Back in Feb. 1971, in his only 1st class match, playing for Dacca University, he scored 24 and took 4/83.

Syed Ashraful:  Ashraful was an elegant middle order batsman, and a more than useful off break bowler. In fact, it was as a bowler that he produced his best performance for Bangladesh. In May, 1979,  his 7/23 against Fiji, helped Bangladesh win a low scoring match in the inaugural ICC Trophy, in England. Bangladesh had scored only 103, but the Fiji batsmen had no clue to Ashraful's guile and they collapsed to 81 all out. Ashraful's 7/23 remained the best figure in ICC trophy until the Dane, Ole Mortensen, took 7/19 against Israel in 1994.

As a batsman, he scored 68 against MCC, at Chittagong, in 1976-77, playing for the East Zone side.  Against a strong SL side, a year later, he scored 40 at Jessore, and 42 and 49 at Chittagong. These may not sound very impressive, but it is worth mentioning, that the local side failed to cross the 200 mark a single time against their much stronger opposition. In domestic cricket, he became the 1st player a score a double hundred, scoring 213*, playing for BSC in the national cricket championship.

in the late 60's, he had a brief 1st class career. In his debut match, in Jan 1968, he scored 91 against East Pak Railways. Overall, in 5 matches he scored 196 runs at an impressive average of 49.00. Also impressive is his bowling record, 8 wickets at 17 apiece, with a best of 3/23 against Khairpur.

Since his retirement, he has been actively involved as a cricket organizer. In fact, his fame as a successful organizer has virtually overshadowed his achievements as a cricketer.

 Yousuf Rahman Babu: Originally a medium pace bowler, who could bat a bit, Babu's reputation as a batsman increased with years, and he retired from international cricket in 1984, as an opening bat. And, it was in that position, that he played his most memorable innings. At the small ground of Bourneville, England, he took the hapless PNG bowling to task smashing 115 and sharing a 172 run opening stand with the teen prodigy, Nazim Shirajee. Unfortunately, their departure saw a spectacular batting collapse, and Bangladesh eventually lost the game by 3 wickets.

Yousuf had a special liking for the Dhaka wicket, as he almost never failed there in international matches. His most brilliant effort at Dhaka came in Jan 1977, against MCC. Batting first, Bangladesh were struggling at 145/6, but Babu led a late order recovery to take the score to 266/9(Decl.). His 78 was the highest score of the match.

Although, he eventually became a part time bowler, his slow medium pacers were quite useful in One Day Cricket. His 3/16 against East Africa helped Bangladesh win a vital low scoring game in the 1982 ICC Trophy.

Shafiq-Ul-Haq Hira:  In his time, Hira was the undisputed No.1 wicket keeper country. His main rivals, Belal and Manju, could only get a chance in the team as batsman (fortunately, both were rather good in batting). Hira, himself, was no mean batsman (A highest score of 71 in a brief 1st class career testifies to that), but it is his keeping, especially against the spinners, that still haunts my memory.

In the late 70's, three spinners, Rumy, Ashraful  & Lintu were permanent features of the national team. Lintu was the best, and he posed a special challenge, not only to the opposition batsman, but to his WK as well. He had an unusually fast and long run up to the wicket for a slow bowler, and he mostly bowled over the wicket. Hira took standing up to Lintu as a challenge. And the number of stumppings he had of Lintu's bowling testifies his success in facing the challenge. Rumy also could be a mystery, as he had a well disguised googley at his armory Even now, I can still visualize Hira standing up to these spinners, clapping them and encouraging them.

Hira played an important role as the captain of the Bangladesh side in the 1979 and 1982 ICC Trophy tournaments in England. In 1979, Bangladesh were eliminated from the group stages, after couple of narrow defeats against Canada & Denmark; but in 1982 Bangladesh reached the Semis before losing to the eventual winners Zimbabwe.

Jahangir Shah Badshah: He made his international debut in Feb. 1978, and until his retirement in 1990, he was a regular member of the side. During this period, the Bangladesh cricket saw drastic changes, but very little changed with Badshah. The most reliable allrounder of the side, he kept picking up vital wickets with his gentle medium pacers, and with the bat contributing valuable runs in different positions. He was the most versatile cricketer of the country during his period.

His type of bowling was more suited for England conditions than the sub-continental conditions. Not surprisingly, some of his best bowling performances came abroad. In May, 1979, he bowled superbly against Canada, in an ICC trophy match, to take 4/17. Unfortunately, some fielding lapses saw Canada recover from 5/81 to a respectable 190/9, and with our batting struggling in difficult conditions his superb effort went in vain. No less impressive was his 1/7 from 10 overs (with 5 maidens) against Fiji in the opening fixture. Overall, he finished the tournament with 7 wickets at an impressive average of 8.00. He was less successful in the 82 and 86 ICC Trophy, but still he took 4/39 against Malaysia, in 1986, before our batsmen muffed it again.

Badshah played in our first ever ODI against Pak, in 1986. Although, he was out for a duck, he impressed everyone with his bowling, taking 2/21 form 9 economical overs.

Daulat-Uz-Zaman: The well built right arm medium pacer led our new ball attack in the late 70's. He had a highly successful ICC trophy in England, in 1979, taking 6 wickets at 12.33 runs apiece. His best, 4/23 came against Malaysia.

He had a lengthy 1st class career in the 60's. Overall, in 22 1st class games, he took 40 wickets a 35.07 apiece. His best 1st class figures is 5/105.

After retiring as a player, he, like many others of his generation, became a cricket administrator to help develop the infrastructure of local cricket. He was involved with Victoria Sporting Club, one of the oldest clubs in Dhaka (named after the empress). And it was while attending a club match involving his beloved club, that he suddenly died. On March, 2002, Victoria were involved in a vital league clash. Daulat was there cheering his side, when he suddenly had a heart attack and died instantly. A true lover of the game, he died, quite appropriately, on the field of cricket.

Nazrul Kader Lintu: He was not the best fielder in the world, and he was a real rabbit with the bat, yet the Dhaka crowd just loved him. The only reason being that, at his prime he was easily the best bowler of the country by a long way.  But for an unfortunate incident in 1979, he would have become the greatest spinner to come from Bangladesh.

He had an unusual action for a left arm spinner, running onto the wicket at a very fast pace, and mostly bowling over the wicket. He had a good chinaman (the wrong un for the left arm spinner), and he used it very effectively at times. He had a great understanding with wicketkeeper Hira, and the two combined to dismiss many a batsmen.

Lintu enjoyed an outstanding season in 1978-79 against MCC. With Hira behind the stumps, and the all rounders Rumy and Ashraful providing excellent support, he completely mesmerized the MCC batsmen. Lintu took 4/49 at Jessore, 5/67 at Rajshahi, 4/58 at Chittagong, 3/79 and 3/29 at Dhaka. With Lintu still being very young, he seemed set for a long and distinguished career ahead in the international cricket arena. Destiny, however, had other ideas.

During the spring of 1979, BCCB organized a month long fitness camp for the national cricketers, as part of their preparation for the 1st ICC trophy in England. Lintu at that time was studying Engineering at BUET, and attending the camp would have meant missing a whole semester for him. He decided to give the camp a miss, and the board retaliated by dropping him from the England tour. Soon, Lintu went abroad for higher studies, and his international career ended abruptly.

Other Cricketers: Some of the other cricketers of the era also deserve dome attention. Three veterans Aliul Islam, Tanvir Mazhar Tanna & SM Faruk played leading roles in domestic cricket. Well past their best, they used their 1st Class experience of the 60's to guide the young cricketers of the country. Aliul, as captain of Abahani KC, helped in the development of young talents like Omar Khaled Rumy.  

Three young batsmen, Sadrul, Rafiq & Lipu emerged in the late 70's. While, Rafiq & Sadrul failed to show their fullest potential at the international level, Lipu went on to captain the national side during the 2nd half of the 80's. The medium pacers, Dipu Chowdhury and Samiur Rahman (Sami), provided excellent back-ups for Daulat and Badshah. Late Tanvir Haider was a medium pacer who could bat quite a bit. The Leggie Wahidul Gani emerged as a potential match winning bowler, and remained a prominent figure in domestic cricket well into the 90's. Finally, WK Belal declined to remain under the shadow of Hira, and for a brief period in 1983-84, he found a regular place in the national team, as a hard hitting middle order bat.