Mushfiqur Rahim, the tiny boy from Bogra, had never touched a cricket ball until early 2000 when a camp at the Bangladesh Krira Shikha Protishthan got under way in his home town. His uncle Badal, who had been a great source of motivation in his life apart from his parents, took him to the sports academy which became his ultimate destination. Joining the institute later in the same year changed his world and vision in particular and his life in general. A wise head on his small shoulders did not go unnoticed and he soon found himself at the core group of the sports academy. He started his career with BKSP in the third division and his performance earned him a call into the National Under-15 side that toured India in 2002. He became the highest scorer there with three fifties in four matches. Bangladesh were at that time desperately looking for a successor to their long-standing wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud and Mushfique showed the quality to take the slot. He was made captain of Bangladesh Under-19 team in 2004 and found himself in the national team for a trip to England the following year. Originally included as an understudy to Mashud, he scored a fifty and a century in the tour matches which opened the doors for him for a Test debut at no other places than Lord’s where he was the youngest ever player. An overenthusiastic English media compared him to the great batsmen like Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, who all are short in height. Mushfique, however, struggled to find his feet until the last World Cup where his half-century formed the part of Bangladesh’s successful run chase against India. He briefly lost his place to Dhiman Ghosh in the one-day side but has always been a regular in the Test side since making his debut. My primary goal as a batsman is now to improve my strike rate and average,’ said Mushfique.
