Bangladesh Cricket Team: History, Facts & Achievements

Last Updated on April 30, 2017 by Aminul Haque Shahin

1st April 1999, many Bangladeshis woke up hearing the sweetest piece of news for the month. Whoever stayed up until midnight and glimpsed history in the making spent the whole night celebrating. They just witnessed one of the brightest chapters in the history of Bangladesh — Bangladesh defeating Pakistan in the 1999 ICC World Cup!

The Bangladesh National Cricket Team, or most commonly known as the Tigers, is the team that represents Bangladesh in international cricket matches. The Tigers have been playing cricket for over 30 years and emerged as a strong unit that has the capacity to defeat any cricket-playing nation. Recently Bangladesh completed a successful tour in Sri Lanka.

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The Bangladesh Cricket Board is the governing body of the Tigers. After being inducted into the Test playing nation fraternity in 2000, Bangladesh became a full member of the International Cricket Council. Now Bangladesh plays all three major formats of the game; ODI, Test, and T20. Bangladesh showed significant improvements in all three formats over the past few years. Recently Bangladesh came victorious in their 100th Test match against Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh Cricket Team Records, Facts & History at a Glance:

• First Appearance in the International Arena – 1979 ICC Trophy in England
• Test Status Received – 2000

One-Day Internationals (ODI)

• First ODI – vs Pakistan; 31st March 1986
• Matches Played – 324 (as of 29th April 2017)
• Wins and Defeats – 102 wins and 217 defeats (0 ties, 5 no results)
• Last Match Played – vs Sri Lanka; 1st April 2017
• World Cup Appearances – 5 times
• Best Position – reached Quarter Finals in the 2015 World Cup
• Highest Total – 329/6 vs Pakistan; 17th April 2015
• Lowest Total – 58 twice vs West Indies and India
• Most ODI Runs Scored by a Bangladeshi – Tamim Iqbal; 5251 runs
• Most ODI Wickets Taken by a Bangladeshi – Mashrafe Mortaza; 224 wickets
• Most Dismissals by a Bangladeshi Wicket-Keeper – Mushfiqur Rahim; 173 ODI dismissals

Test Matches

• First Test – vs India; 13th November 2000
• Matches Played – 100 (as of 29th April 2017)
• Wins and Defeats – 9 wins and 76 defeats (15 draws)
• Last Match Played – vs Sri Lanka; 15-19th March 2017
• Highest Total – 638 vs Sri Lanka in 2013
• Lowest Total – 62 vs Sri Lanka in 2007
• Most Test Runs Scored by a Bangladeshi – Tamim Iqbal; 3677 runs
• Most Test Wickets Taken by a Bangladeshi – Shakib Al Hasan; 176 wickets
• Most Dismissals by a Bangladeshi Wicket-Keeper – Mushfiqur Rahim; 100 Test dismissals

Twenty-Twenty Internationals (T20)

• First T20 – vs Zimbabwe; 28th November 2006
• Matches Played – 67 (as of 29th April 2017)
• Wins and Defeats – 21 wins and 44 defeats
• Last Match Played – vs Sri Lanka; 6th April 2017
• World Cup Appearances – 6
• Best Position – 2nd round of three T20 world cups
• Most T20 Runs Scored by a Bangladeshi – Shakib Al Hasan; 1208 runs
• Most T20 Wickets Taken by a Bangladeshi – Shakib Al Hasan; 70 wickets
• Most Dismissals by a Bangladeshi Wicket-Keeper – Mushfiqur Rahim; 46 T20 dismissals

History of Bangladesh Cricket

The history of Bangladesh can be divided into two periods; the pre-independence history and the post-independence history.

The Pre-Independence History of Bangladesh Cricket

• The British Era: Cricket was introduced to East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) by the British in the 18th century. So, the commencement of playing cricket in Bangladesh predates its present-day foundation by about two centuries.
• East Pakistan Era: after the partition of 1947, East Bengal became East Pakistan. East Pakistan hosted both first-class Test cricket matches. East Pakistan produced 13 first-class teams that participated in the Pakistan domestic cricket competitions held between 1954-55 and 1970-71 seasons.

An international XI team toured East Pakistan in 1961-1962. Then, East Pakistan Governor’s XI. Although cricket teams were formed in East Pakistan, gross marginalization was observed during the inclusion of Bengali cricketers. After the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the period ended.

The Post-Independence History of Bangladesh Cricket

Bangladesh became independent in 1971. And, the popularity of cricket started growing. Bangladesh participated in many international competitions to become an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Finally, in 1977, the country was granted an Associate Membership by the ICC.

• 1979 ICC Trophy: through the participation in 1979 ICC Trophy held in England, Bangladesh announced its emergence in international cricket. The tournament was held to give non-Test playing nations an opportunity to participate in that year’s world cup. Bangladesh ended its tournament by registering two victories and two defeats.
• 1986 Asia Cup: Bangladesh made Bangladesh’s first participation against a full member of the ICC occurred during the 1986 Asia Cup. During that tournament, Bangladesh debuted fully for the international cricket. Bangladesh qualified for the 1986 Asia Cup after its victory in the South-East Asia Cricket Conference Tournament held in February 1984. Bangladesh vs Pakistan match on 31 March 1986 marks the first ODI match for Bangladesh.
• 1988 Asia Cup – this is the first large-scale cricket tournament held in Bangladesh. Bangladesh couldn’t bag a win in the tournament.
• First ODI Win – Bangladesh had lost 22 matches in a row before they claimed their first ODI victory. It took Bangladesh 12 years for registering a win. Bangladesh’s first ODI win came against Kenya.
• 1997 ICC Trophy – Bangladesh participated in the ICC Trophy in the subsequent 1979, 1982, 1986 and 1994 edition. Bangladesh managed to win the 1997 ICC Trophy. Upon winning the tournament, Bangladesh qualified for the 1999 World Cup.
• 1999 World Cup – it’s the first world cup tournament Bangladesh appeared in. Bangladesh claimed their first World Cup win in the tournament. Bangladesh’s glory in cricket took a new turn when they pulled off an incredible victory over Pakistan. The fact that Bangladesh playing their first world cup tournament and notching up a victory against a World Cup Champion is itself incredible. The victory introduced Bangladesh to the world in a way. The joyous moments of Bangladesh cricket fans rushing into the park and hugging cricketers still etched on cricket fans’ mind. No matter how glorifying Bangladesh’s cricket history becomes, this victory will be one of the most sparkling ones!
• Test Status – following Bangladesh’s surreal performance in the 1999 World Cup, granting Bangladesh Test status was just a matter of time. On 26th June 2000, Bangladesh acquired full ICC membership, becoming the 10th Test playing nation.
• First Test Match – Bangladesh appeared in their first Test match against India on 13th November 2000. Bangladesh posted a large total in the first innings of their first Test match and bowled India out by a little margin to the trail. However, Bangladesh couldn’t repeat the performance showed in the first innings, resulting in a collapse and losing the match by 9 wickets.
• First Test Victory – losses after losses prompted many to ask whether Bangladesh was ready for the longer format of the game. Bangladesh’s Test loss streak ended when Zimbabwe toured Bangladesh in 2005. Bangladesh clinched their first Test victory as well as the series by 1-0.
• Victory over Australia – “the biggest upset in ODI history,” Wisden described Bangladesh’s victory over Australia. It was a triangular series with Australia and England followed. Bangladesh’s win over Australia by 5 wickets earned them the Giant Slayer tag.
• New Zealand Tour of Bangladesh – in October 2010, New Zealand toured Bangladesh for five one-day internationals. Bangladesh showed sheer dominance over the visitors and secured the ODI series by 4-0. The series victory against New Zealand marks Bangladesh’s first series victory against a full strength cricket nation.
• 2011 World Cup – Bangladesh co-hosted the 2011 Cricket World Cup with India and Sri Lanka. Although Bangladesh was able to defeat England, Ireland and the Netherlands, the country registered their lowest ODI total with the defeat to West Indies.
• 2012 Asia Cup – Bangladesh hosted the tournament and reached the final beating India and Sri Lanka. The finalist awaited Bangladesh was Pakistan. Bangladesh came so close to beating Pakistan and fell short of two runs.

The Current Stat of Bangladesh Cricket

Following Bangladesh’s win-less streak and multiple series defeats, when everyone became pessimistic of the country’s cricketing future, Bangladesh Cricket is now showing why it is still a highly potential side.

Bangladesh’s potential is once again displayed in full glory in the 2015 World Cup. Bangladesh reached the Quarter Finals in the World Cup Tournament defeating Afghanistan, Scotland, and England.

• Pakistan’s Tour of Bangladesh: after completing a successful world cup mission, Bangladesh faced Pakistan for a full-fledged series back in the home. Although Pakistan claimed the Test series by 1-0, Bangladesh whitewashed Pakistan in the ODI series by 3-0. Bangladesh also claimed the T20 series.
• India’s Tour of Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s giant slaying didn’t stop with Pakistan. Bangladesh also claimed the bilateral series held against India by 2-1. With the ODI series win against India, Bangladesh won three bilateral series consecutively. Bangladesh managed to dispel all the doubt and shut down the critiques.

Bottom Line – Bangladesh’s cricketing history of late is a history of invincibility, supremacy, and diligence. It’s Bangladesh’s persistence to be the best epitomizes the indomitable attitude. The Tigers still have a long way to go though. Retaining the current development, and pushing for the best will surely bring the World Cup to this riverine country one day.