The greatest Bangladesh XI of all-time

After winning the ODI series against neighbours India and Pakistan, many are optimistic about the future of Bangladesh. With supremely talented players like Soumya Sarkar and Mustafizur Rahman stamping their authority, the future does indeed seem bright for the Tigers.However, it hasn’t been an easy journey. After years of struggle in the pits of mediocrity, where humiliation was the scent of the air, this team has been forged. This team might seem Bangladesh’s greatest ever – and it perhaps is – but there are some players from the days gone by who would easily get in to this team.However, we can’t go back in time, but if we could have, then this would have been Bangladesh’s best ever XI…

#1 Shahriar Nafees

Nafees provided solidity to the lineup

He might be struggling in the domestic circuit to get back into the side – and the rate at which the younger players are emerging, it might be in vain – but that doesn’t change the fact that he was a great player in his time.

At a time when Bangladesh cricket was struggling to find decent batsmen, Nafees became the standard-bearer of the team. For a short space of time, he was the Tigers’ most consistent player, but he failed to advance with the team.

Now, he might not be a part of the current success of the team, but he was there in its most dire times – and he was there with rays of hope for the future.

#2 Tamim Iqbal

Tamim still has so many years left in him

Love him or hate him, but one can’t deny how ridiculously talented he is.

At times, and that is on most occasions, he infuriates fans by throwing away his wicket because of his poor choice of shots. A look back at all of his dismissals in international cricket and majority of them is because of his recklessness rather than the bowler tricking him.

However, Tamim Iqbal is a match-winner. Whenever this man plays a great innings, Bangladesh win.

Bangladesh reached the final of the 2012 Asia Cup and it was Tamim Iqbal who scored 4 half-centuries in a row to help them get there. If it weren’t for lethargy and insensibleness on the pitch, this Chittagongian could have been among the elite-level batsmen in the world.

#3 Mohammed Ashraful

Ashraful scored a hundred at the age of 17

Another extremely gifted player. Mohammed Ashraful was one of Bangladesh’s brightest stars when he joined the scene. He could play almost every shot there was and only few possessed the kind of natural talent that he had.

However, he threw it all away to some poor work-ethic, like so many other Bangladeshi players.

He raised some hopes with his performances in the second season of the Bangladesh Premier League, where he was among the best performers, but that was just the small blaze of a candle before going off.

Still, he makes it to this list because of the fact that Bangladesh haven’t had many great players and guys like Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque have played very little to be in a list like this. Also, like Tamim Iqbal, whenever Ashraful played well, Bangladesh pulled off some emphatic victories – like the one against Australia 11 years ago.

#4 Mahmudullah Riad

The twin centuries has helped his case to be included

He is the only Bangladeshi player to score a century in the World Cup. In fact, he has two of them.

The problem with him is, like so many other Bangladeshi players, his inconsistency. In 2012, he was just a whisker away from being Bangladesh’s captain after being the best player in the series in which West Indies lost to Bangladesh.

Then a slip in form meant that he was dropped from the Asia Cup 2014 squad. However, he worked hard and it paid off as he became the fulcrum of the Bangladesh team that reached the knock-outs of the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

Since then, though, his batting form has slipped again.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the best players ever to don the green jersey of Bangladesh and will be among the first names to be on the XI when fit.

#5 Shakib Al-Hasan

The best Bangladeshi player ever

Perhaps the greatest Bangladeshi player of all time.

Shakib Al Hasan is the crown jewel of Bangladesh cricket – someone who set the benchmark for the rest to follow. Before his arrival, almost all Bangladeshi players came in with a blast and then faded away even quicker.

However, he was the exception to this rule as he has been the country’s most consistent player – a feat that was achieved due to extreme hard work and determination.

He is the most recognized Bangladeshi player as he has played in numerous leagues and is the only Bangladeshi player to current be in the roster of an IPL team. He is also the best all-rounder in the world, according to recent rankings and will perhaps be regarded in the same bracket as Kallis and co. when he hangs up his boots.

#6 Akram Khan

The team depended heavily on Akram Khan

The man who brought Test cricket to this nation.

Akram Khan is a tiger – someone who roared Bangladesh to heights they still enjoy. He could be deemed as unlucky to not have been born 10 years later and play with this generation, but perhaps what happened was for the best of Bangladesh cricket.

The fruits that are now seen on the tree of Bangladesh cricket has Akram for its roots. His incredible mentality and determination was the foundation on which today’s team was built on. He might not have been fortunate enough to play many games in international cricket, but he showed his class in the few games that he did.

If it weren’t for him, Bangladesh would still be in mediocrity and he still remains the best leader the team has ever had – and he would be the captain of this team as well.

#7 Mushfiqur Rahim (WK)

Mushfiqur Rahim is the best wicket-keeper batsman Bangladesh ever had

How far has the baby-faced assassin come? When he entered the international arena, many thought he was someone who was picked straight out of school and belonged more on the lap of his mother than on the cricket pitch.

Now, he is the team’s most consistent batsman – and it is all down to his unparalleled work ethic.

He came in as a wicketkeeper who could play a few strokes here and there. And now, in the recent series against India, he played as a specialist batsman.

Rahim is the only Bangladeshi player to ever score a double hundred in Tests – a testament to the grit he possesses. He is not a naturally gifted batsmen, but his diligence to the game has made him one of its finest batsman-wicketkeeper.

#8 Mashrafe Mortaza

Started out as an 18-year-old

The best fast bowler Bangladesh has ever had.

Many fast bowlers came and went, but this guy has stood unmoved like a mountain. If it weren’t for fragile knees, his stats would have read even better – but stats don’t reveal everything anyway.

The recent influx of fast bowlers may fool the new watchers of the gentlemen’s game, but Bangladesh has always had a dearth of genuine quality pacers. Mashrafe is an exception to that as he has stamped himself as the key figure of the team – so much that he is the captain of it.

He was, and still is, the key inspiration for Bangladeshi youngsters who aspire to bowl quick. His enthusiastic, and sometimes overzealous, approach has been the key to the current evolution of the team and he could lead the current batch to even greater heights.

#9 Mohammed Rafique

Rafique inspired many young spinners in the countr

While Akram Khan, among the batsmen, was the household name, Mohammed Rafique made his way to everyone’s lips with his slow left arm bowling.

These days, slow left-arm bowlers from Bangladesh is a really common sight, but Rafique was the original one – the primordial. Coming from a very humble background, he became the role-model of many young Bangladeshis and the number of slow left-arm bowlers in the current circuit only works to give further proof.

He was also a very handy batsmen and could stick around to punish bowlers. A true gentlemen, he oozed class with his behavior and could be looked upon as an ideal on how to behave in a match.

#10 Abdur Razzak

Even though he isn’t a part of the squad now, he deserves this spot

Another popular figure of the Bangladesh cricket team. Razzak is the direct successor to Mohammed Rafique and is also one of his protégé.

He is Bangladesh’s all-time highest wicket-taker in One Day Internationals with a grand total of 206 wickets – making him an automatic choice for this list. Although he wasn’t as effective in Tests, his performances in limited overs made him one of the trickiest bowlers to face.

We might not find his name in the current team and its successes, but he, along with the ones that aren’t in the main team currently, played a major role in steadying the ship of the team.

#11 Rubel Hossain

Rubel has fast developed into Bangladesh’s leading seamer

The man of the World Cup after Mahmudullah Riad. After a controversial saga prior to the World Cup, many questioned his selection in the team, but he responded to them in style.

After rocking the England team and helping Bangladesh to the knockouts, he became the name on everyone lips. His Test bowling average might be shameful, but his bowling in the limited overs puts him here, completing the quota of 4 bowlers.

Although his form has dipped slightly after the World Cup, he is still one of the most important members of the team and the Tigers can on him for the future.