Mushfiqur Rahim has seen it all. He was in the West Indies when Bangladesh won their first away series in 2009, in Mirpur when they stunned England and Australia in 2016 and 2017, and in Mount Maunganui when the Tigers pulled off a miracle over the Kiwis in 2022.
After making his Test debut as a teenager in 2005, Mushfiq has been part of all the 20 victories that Bangladesh have achieved. The last one came in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, when they completed a historic 2-0 sweep over Pakistan. It was quite fitting that Mushfiq and the other veteran, Shakib Al Hasan, were at the crease when the historic achievement was accomplished.
Cricket website ESPNcricinfo has created a poll asking its readers which one was the biggest landmark win in the history of Bangladesh men鈥檚 cricket. It is arguable that recency bias plays a role, yet the series victory in Pakistan remained at the top for three hours after the survey was published.
If you consider the fact that Bangladesh have only managed 21 Test wins in 24 years, if you know that Test cricket is like a slow-burning thriller that goes on for five days, if you鈥檙e aware that historically Bangladeshi people are not that suited to this kind of culture鈥攖he latest series win becomes more significant.
Former national team captain Khaled Mashud, who led the Tigers in 12 Tests, does not want to compare this victory to others, but he regards it as a monumental achievement.
鈥楾his is huge. We鈥檝e won Tests and series鈥� before. But to beat Pakistan at their den isn鈥檛 a piece of cake. Moreover, our team wasn鈥檛 in good shape for the last six months,鈥� Mashud told 抖阴精品.
鈥楾he team has shown that they鈥檝e got the calibre to perform well in Tests. But now it鈥檚 a matter of maintaining the consistency.鈥�
Bangladesh had had a forgettable 50-over World Cup in India last year; they鈥檇 lost a golden opportunity to secure a semi-final berth in the T20 World Cup after showing poor mentality against Afghanistan when they didn鈥檛 even try to win the match within certain overs.
Country鈥檚 famed cricket coach and analyst and now a BCB director Nazmul Abedin Fahim thinks that this win bodes well for the future.
鈥楾his will give us a lot of confidence,鈥� said Fahim.
鈥楳ost of the time, the ability is of no use if you don鈥檛 have the confidence. This achievement will tell you not to give up even when everything is against you鈥攖his is a big gain.鈥�
Bangladesh as a country has gone through a lot since the start of July. Keeping an eye on the Pakistan series, BCB had arranged a long camp with Bangla Tigers outfit.
But the preparation got hampered when the political unrest was at its peak. Pakistan Cricket Board then invited the Tigers to get there early and use their facilities to practice.
During the build up and the series, Bangladesh has seen a prime minister flee the country following a bloody movement, and BCB has seen a new president.
The Bangladesh cricket team wasn鈥檛 certainly at the core of the attention in the country. After the fall of the previous government, most of the BCB directors have gone underground.
Fahim feels that this lack of attention has created something that should be in the practice all the time.
鈥楶ersonally, I鈥檝e always felt that the culture of controlling the players and the management is a big obstacle to players鈥� performances,鈥� he said.
鈥楴ot only in cricket, it鈥檚 an obstacle to any sport in our country. We should get rid of that.
鈥楾here was no such controlling this time. The previous board isn鈥檛 functioning now. This is kind of a new board; we two [me and the president, Faruque Ahmed] have come. We have both realised that we won鈥檛 give them a feeling anyhow that we鈥檙e pulling them back.
鈥榃e鈥檝e told them that, 鈥楾his is your matter. This team belongs to you. You decide whatever you think is suitable for you.鈥� I think this freedom was necessary. They鈥檝e only concentrated on the game. I guess they haven鈥檛 thought about the negative things, such as what would happen if they failed.鈥�