Born into a middle-class family in Jamalpur, Roqibul Hassan, the youngest one of nine siblings, burst onto the cricket scene when the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan held a camp for the under-16 batsmen in his home town early in 2001. Roqibul never got his chance to study at the BKSP, but showed his class in the brief training camp that he attended at the sports academy and never looked back since. He was soon inducted into the Bangladesh Under-17 side and took no time to make his name as ‘Mr Dependable’ for his calm attitude. Roqibul, the first Bangladeshi to hit a triple-century in first class cricket, is one of the key members of the Bangladesh Under-19 team that forced the world to take look at them with their performance in a tri-series at home in 2005, also featuring England and Sri Lanka. He was one of the three Bangladeshis to hit a century in the tournament with Sakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal being other two names. He made his international debut against South Africa with an ODI in 2008 and soon became one of the most pampered boys of coach Jamie Siddons. Upset at being excluded from the 30-man provisional squad for the last ICC World Twenty20, Roqibul whimsically retired from international cricket, a decision which made everyone dumbfounded. He realised his mistake shortly and returned to the national fold three months later. ‘Really it’s a dream journey for me. I never thought I would come this far. I am thankful to Allah and my coaches for making me the cricketer I am. I will try to repay them with all my ability.’ said the right-hander.
