History of cricket in Bangladesh

The history of cricket in Bangladesh may seem short when the "inaugural first-class match" was as recent as October 1999 but in fact the area has a long cricketing history that has been distorted by political change.

Origin of Bangladesh

The borders of Bangladesh were set by the Partition of India in 1947, when it became the eastern wing of Pakistan and known as East Pakistan. It was separated from the main (western) part of Pakistan by some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) of Indian territory. Despite their common religion of Islam, the ethnic and linguistic gulf between the two parts of Pakistan, compounded by an apathetic government based in the west, resulted in the independence of Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 after the bloody Bangladesh Liberation War, in which it was supported by India.

Bangladesh formally declared its independence from Pakistan on 26 March 1971. This was confirmed on the new nation's Victory Day of 16 December 1971.

Cricket in Bengal

Cricket was first introduced in Bengal by the English East India Company in the 18th century and the first cricket matches are known to be organized by 1792, but was possibly played more than a decade earlier. In 1934 the Board of Control for Cricket in India of British India organized the Ranji Trophy which Bengal won in 1938-39 season.

Cricket in East Bengal

With the Partition of British India, Bengal was also partitioned, cricket was not officially played in East Bengal until 1954.

Cricket in East Pakistan

Between the 1954-55 and 1970-71 seasons, 10 East Pakistan first-class cricket teams teams from East Pakistan played in the Pakistan domestic cricket competitions, the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy and the Ayub Trophy.East Pakistan also played first-class matches against the touring Indians in 1954-55 and the MCC in 1955-56. Indians won on both occasions.

Bangladesh had staged first-class and even Test cricket when it was part of Pakistan. The Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka was first used for Test cricket when Pakistan played India there in January 1955. It was used for numerous important matches, including Tests, right up to the declaration of independence in 1971. The MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong also dates back to 1954 as a first-class venue but it was not used for Tests until Bangladesh played there in 2001.

Cricket in Bangladesh

The beginning of Bangladesh's own cricketing journey as an independent country in 1972 with the establishment of Bangladesh Cricket Control Board and a national level cricket tournament begun in 1974-75.

On 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played their first One Day International against Pakistan a full member of the International Cricket Council. Captained by Gazi Ashraf, Bangladesh were dismissed for 94 and Pakistan reached their target for victory with seven wickets in hand.

Bangladesh became a full member of the International Cricket Council on 26 June 2000^[1] and the board officially changed its name to Bangladesh Cricket Board.

On 10–13 November 2000, Bangladesh played its inaugural Test Match v India in the Bangabandhu National Stadium. India won by 9 wickets.

The 2000-01 season saw the beginning of first-class domestic competition in Bangladesh, although the country had already staged first-class matches against touring teams in the previous year. The Green Delta National Cricket League was constituted as the first-class championship and the Ispahani Mirzapore Tea One-Day League as the premier limited overs competition. In 2000-01, both titles were won by Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

The National Cricket League had in fact been inaugurated in the 1999-2000 season but was not then first-class. In 2000-01, eight teams played 12 matches each in two groups. Group A consisted of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Chittagong Division, Rajshahi Division and Dhaka Division. Group B had Dhaka Metropolis, Khulna Division, Barisal Division and Sylhet Division. Four teams qualified for a final stage in which they each played a further 8 games.

In 2001-02, Ispahani Mirzapore Tea became the sponsor of the National Cricket League in addition to the One-Day League.

National championships

National Cricket League winners

• 2000-01 – Biman Bangladesh Airlines
• 2001-02 – Dhaka Division
• 2002-03 – Khulna Division
• 2003-04 – Dhaka Division
• 2004-05 – Dhaka Division
• 2005-06 – Rajshahi Division
• 2006-07 – Dhaka Division
• 2007-08 –

One-Day League winners

• 2000-01 – Biman Bangladesh Airlines
• 2001-02 – Sylhet Division
• 2002-03 – Khulna Division
• 2003-04 – Chittagong Division
• 2004-05 – Rajshahi Division
• 2005-06 – Rajshahi Division
• 2006-07 – Dhaka Division
• 2007-08 –

Leading players by season

The lists below give the leading first-class runscorers and wicket-takers in each domestic season.

Batsmen

• 2000-01 – Imran Farhat – 735 runs @ 91.87
• 2001-02 – Minhajul Abedin – 1012 @ 72.28
• 2002-03 – Sajjadul Hasan – 447 @ 40.63
• 2003-04 – Faisal Hossain – 809 @ 38.52
• 2004-05 – Golam Rahman – 825 @ 51.56
• 2005-06 – Ehsanul Haque – 955 @ 59.68
• 2006-07 – Gazi Salahuddin – 791 @ 46.53
• 2007-08 – –

Bowlers

• 2000-01 – Enamul Haque – 57 wickets @ 16.63
• 2001-02 – Mohammad Rafique – 42 @ 12.76
• 2002-03 – Ahsanullah Hasan – 35 @ 18.51
• 2003-04 – Saifullah Khan – 63 @ 16.33
• 2004-05 – Alamgir Kabir – 45 @ 18.88
• 2005-06 – Hasibul Hossain – 57 @ 16.00
• 2006-07 – Shabbir Khan – 53 @ 28.30
• 2007-08 – –

International tours of Bangladesh

England A 1994-95

For information about this tour, see : England A cricket team in Bangladesh in 1994-95

England A 1999-2000

For information about this tour, see : England A cricket team in Bangladesh in 1999-2000

India 2000-01

This tour featured the inaugural Test match by Bangladesh:

• 1st Test at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – India won by 9 wickets

Pakistan 2001-02

Pakistan played 3 first-class matches, including 2 Tests; and 3 ListA limited overs internationals. Pakistan won the Test series convincingly, winning both matches by an innings:

• 1st Test at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – Pakistan won by an innings and 178 runs
• 2nd Test at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong – Pakistan won by an innings and 169 runs

Zimbabwe 2001-02

Zimbabwe played 2 Test matches and won the series 1-0 with one match drawn:

• 1st Test at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – match drawn
• 2nd Test at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong – Zimbabwe won by 8 wickets

West Indies 2002-03

West Indies played 2 Test matches and 3 limited overs internationals. They won both the Test matches:

• 1st Test at (Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – West Indies won by an innings and 310 runs
• 2nd Test at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong – West Indies won by 7 wickets

South Africa 2003

South Africa played 2 Test matches against Bangladesh and took part in a limited overs tri-series with Bangladesh and India. South Africa won the Test series against Bangladesh, winning both matches convincingly by an innings:

• 1st Test at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong – South Africa won by an innings and 60 runs
• 2nd Test at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – South Africa won by an innings and 18 runs

England 2003-04

England played 2 Tests and 3 limited overs internationals. They won the Test series against Bangladesh, winning both of the 2 matches :

• 1st Test at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – England won by 7 wickets
• 2nd Test at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong – England won by 329 runs

India 2004-05

India played 2 Test matches and won both by an innings margin:

• 1st Test at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – India won by an innings and 140 runs
• 2nd Test at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong – India won by an innings and 83 runs

New Zealand 2004-05

This was New Zealand's first tour of Bangladesh. They played 2 Test matches and 3 limited over internationals. New Zealand won the Test series convincingly, winning both matches by an innings margin:

• 1st Test at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – New Zealand won by an innings and 99 runs
• 2nd Test at MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong – New Zealand won by an innings and 101 runs

Zimbabwe 2004-05

For information about this tour, see : Zimbabwean cricket team in Bangladesh in 2004-05

Australia 2005-06

This was Australia's first tour of Bangladesh.

For information about this tour, see : Australian cricket team in Bangladesh in 2005-06

Kenya 2005-06

The Kenyans played a four-match series of limited overs internationals which Bangladesh won 4-0:

• 1st ODI at Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogra – Bangladesh won by 131 runs
• 2nd ODI at Motiur Rahman Stadium, Khulna – Bangladesh won by 9 wickets
• 3rd ODI at Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Fatullah – Bangladesh won by 20 runs
• 4th ODI at Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Fatullah – Bangladesh won by 7 wickets

Sri Lanka 2005-06

For information about this tour, see : Sri Lankan cricket team in Bangladesh in 2005-06

Scotland 2006-07

For information about this tour, see : Scottish cricket team in Bangladesh in 2006-07

Zimbabwe 2006-07

For information about this tour, see : Zimbabwean cricket team in Bangladesh in 2006-07

India 2007

For information about this tour, see : Indian cricket team in Bangladesh in 2007

Bangladeshi cricket seasons History of cricket in Bangladesh 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14

International cricket tours of Bangladesh Test and LOI tours Australia 2005–06 2011 2015–16 England 2003–04 2009–10 2016–17 India 2000–01 2004–05 2007 2009–10 2014 2015 New Zealand 2004–05 2008–09 2010–11 2013–14 2019–20 Pakistan 2001–02 2011–12 2014–15 2018–19 South Africa 2003 2007–08 2015 Sri Lanka 2005–06 2008–09 2013–14 2014–15 2017–18 2019–20 West Indies 1999–2000 2002–03 2011–12 2012–13 2018–19 Zimbabwe 2001–02 2004–05 2006–07 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2014–15 2015–16 2018–19 Tournaments hosted Multiple teams 1988 1998–99 1998–99 1998–99 2000 2003 2008–09 2011 2012 2014 2014 Other tours Bahraini 2009–10 Danish 1989–90 English 1976–77 1978–79 1980–81 1995–96 1999–2000 Hong Kong 1983–84 1994–95 Irish 2007–08 Kenyan 1994–95 2005–06 Multi-national 1961–62 Pakistani 1979–80 1993–94 Scottish 2006–07 Sri Lankan 1977–78 1984–85 United Arab Emirates 2005–06 Zimbabwean 1993–94 2014–15

External sources

• Bangladesh Cricket Board: History of Bangladesh cricket
• CricInfo re Bangladesh
• CricketArchive re tournaments in Bangladesh

Further reading

• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2006 (especially p. 1380-1386)

References