Mohammad Rafique (cricketer)

Mohammad Rafique

Rafique at BNS in 2005
Personal information
Full name	Mohammad Rafique
Born	5 September 1970 Dhaka, East Pakistan
Batting style	Left-handed
Bowling style	Slow left arm orthodox
Role	all rounder
International information
National side	Bangladesh
Test debut (cap 8)	10 November 2000 v India
Last Test	29 February 2008 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 27)	5 April 1995 v India
Last ODI	10 June 2007 Asia XI v Africa XI
ODI shirt no.	77
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2001–2010	Dhaka Division
2000–2001	Sylhet Division
2008	Dhaka Warriors
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA Matches 33 125 62 164 Runs scored 1,059 1,191 1,748 1,551 Batting average 18.57 13.38 18.02 13.14 100s/50s 1/4 0/2 1/9 0/3 Top score 111 77 111 77 Balls bowled 8,744 6,414 16,304 8,429 Wickets 100 125 237 184 Bowling average 40.76 37.91 28.01 31.85 5 wickets in innings 7 1 12 2 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 2 n/a Best bowling 6/77 5/47 7/52 5/16 Catches/stumpings 7/– 28/– 23/– 43/–
Source: CricketArchive, 20 September 2008

Mohammed Rafique (Bengali: মোহাম্মদ রফিক) (born 5 September 1970) is a Bangladeshi former cricketer. He was the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in Test matches.

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 Tests 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. His return to cricket was classy and promising, with a six-wicket haul in the second Test against South Africa. 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.^[1] Also he scored 65 against Australia in 2005-6, including six sixes.^[2] 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, 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 7 February 2008.^[3] 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 caught at first slip by Junaid Siddique on 1 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.^[4]

Rafique was banned—with 13 professional players—for ten years from all forms of cricket by the Bangladesh Cricket Board following his enrolment in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in August 2008,^[5][6] 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 and recently starred in the Big Boss T20 Premier League with a match-winning performance for Abahani Limited in the final. However the players announced their departures from the Indian Cricket League in June 2009^[7]

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 he converted to slow orthodox spin bowling.^[8]

In December 1994 he played for the Bangladesh team in the 2nd SAARC cricket tournament where he had a 3/25 in the Bangladesh win against India "A".^[9]

He was a member of the Bangladesh team that won the 1997 ICC Trophy. 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 Moni taking 12 wickets in the tournament. In the final against Kenya he had 26 of 15 deliverie. ^[10]

References

1. 1st Test: West Indies v Bangladesh at Gros Islet, 28 May – 1 Jun 2004
2. 2nd Test: Bangladesh v Australia at Chittagong (CDS), 16–20 Apr 2006
3. Cricinfo – Rafique to retire after South Africa series
4. Records / Test matches / All-round records / 1000 runs and 100 wickets, Cricinfo, retrieved 2010-12-30
5. Bangladesh ‘rebels’ banned. AFP. 22 September 2008
6. BBC – Bangladesh vow to ban ICL rebel
7. http://www.cricinfo.com/icl2008/content/story/407563.html
8. “Playing for Bangladesh is the best thing that happened to my life” : An interview with Mohammad Rafique (Retrieved on 2008-08-05)
9. "Indian Cricket 1995" (Compiled by P.V. Vaidyanathan), Kasturi & Sons Limited,Madras. Published in December 1995.
10. banglacricket: Bangladesh in ICC trophy 1997 (Retrieved on 2008-08-03)

External links

• Cricinfo Profile
• CricketArchive Profile