Mushfiqur Rahim:Biography

Mushfiqur Rahim (Bengali: মুশফিকুর রহিম; born 9 May 1987) is a Bangladeshi cricketer and the former captain and vice-captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team. He is a right-handed middle-order batsman and wicket-keeper in the Bangladesh Cricket Team. He made his international debut for Bangladesh in 2005 at the age of 18. He is one of the best run scorers as a wicket-keeper who has over 11,000 runs and 400+ dismissals across all formats.

Early life and family

Mushfiqur was born in Bogra, Bangladesh to Mahbub Habib and Rahima Khatun. He has two brothers. He studied in Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP), a sports institute, where he received formal training and coaching. He later enrolled in American International University-Bangladesh and completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree.

Personal life

Mushfiqur married Jannatul Kifayet Mondi, an agriculturist, in 2014. She is the sister-in-law of his fellow cricketer Mahmudullah. He practices Islam and follows Islamic practices. He is also fond of travelling, playing golf and football.

Early cricket career

Mushfiqur represented the Bangladesh Under-19s team in various tournaments. He played in the Under-19 World Cup in 2004 and 2006. He made his first-class debut for Rajshahi Division in October 2005. In the 2006–07 National Cricket League, he scored three centuries and finished the season with 779 runs at an average of 51.93, helping Rajshahi Division win the championship.

International debut

Mushfiqur made his international debut for Bangladesh in May 2005 against England in a Test match at Lord's. He scored 19 runs in his first innings but impressed with his wicket-keeping skills. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in August 2006 against Zimbabwe and scored 36 runs. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut in November 2006 against Zimbabwe and scored 26 runs.

ODI career

Mushfiqur has scored over 7,000 runs and taken more than 250 catches and stumpings in ODIs. He has scored nine centuries and 45 half-centuries, with a highest score of 144 against Sri Lanka in September 2018. During the same match, he and Mohammad Mithun made a partnership of 131 runs for the third wicket, which is the highest third-wicket partnership for Bangladesh in ODI cricket. He has also been part of the Bangladesh team that reached the final of the Asia Cup three times (in 2012, 2016 and 2018).

T20I career

Mushfiqur has scored over 1,500 runs and taken more than 70 catches and stumpings in T20Is. He has scored six half-centuries, with a highest score of 72 not out against Zimbabwe in March 2020. He holds the record for the most runs by a Bangladeshi batsman in a bilateral T20I series, scoring 276 runs against Zimbabwe in March 2020. He has also played in five T20 World Cups and helped Bangladesh reach the Super 10 stage once (in 2014).

Test career

Mushfiqur has scored over 5,000 runs and taken more than 100 catches and stumpings in Tests. He has scored ten centuries and 26 half-centuries, with a highest score of 219 not out against Zimbabwe in November 2018. He is the highest individual scorer for Bangladesh in Test cricket. He is also the first and only wicket-keeper-batsman in the history of Test cricket to score two double-hundreds. He has played in four Test World Championships and helped Bangladesh achieve their first-ever Test wins over England and Australia (in 2016 and 2017 respectively).

Records and achievements

Mushfiqur holds several records and achievements in international cricket. Some of them are:

He is the only player to be ranked as the No.1 wicket-keeper-batsman by ICC in all three formats simultaneously (in 2018).
He is the only player to score a century and take six catches in a single Test match, achieving it against Sri Lanka in March 2017.
He is the only player to score a century as a captain as well as a wicket-keeper-batsman across all formats.
He is the highest run-scorer and most capped player for Bangladesh in all three formats.
He is the first and only Bangladeshi player to win 150 international matches.

Awards and honors

Mushfiqur has been honoured with many awards and accolades for his outstanding performances. Some of them are:

He has won the ICC ODI Player of the Year award twice (in 2009 and 2010), the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack Test Player of the Year award once (in 2017), and the ESPNcricinfo Best Wicket-keeper-batsman of the Decade award once (in 2020).
He has been awarded the National Sports Award by the Government of Bangladesh twice (in 2010 and 2017).
He has been conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel by the Bangladesh Army in 2021.

Captaincy stints

Mushfiqur has been appointed as the captain of Bangladesh in all three formats at different times. He first became the ODI captain in 2011 and led the team to their first-ever bilateral series win over West Indies. He later became the Test and T20I captain in 2017 and led the team to their first-ever Test wins over England and Australia. He resigned from captaincy in 2019 after a poor performance in the World Cup. He was reinstated as the T20I captain in 2021 and led the team to their first-ever T20I series win over New Zealand.

Controversies

Mushfiqur has been involved in some controversies during his career. Some of them are:

In 2014, he was banned from all formats of cricket for six months by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for having a "severe attitude problem". The ban was later reduced to three and a half months after he apologised.
In 2016, he made headlines for mocking Indian Cricket Team after they lost the ICC World T20 Semi-final match to West Indies. Mushfiqur took the matter to social media to express his happiness, which agitated Indian fans. He then had to apologise for the same.
In 2019, he was suspended from all cricket for two years by the International Cricket Council for failing to report corrupt approaches from a bookie. The ban was later reduced to one year after he cooperated with the investigation.