Bangladesh has rapidly grown into a cricketing force to reckon with, especially in home conditions. While known for passionate batsmen, the Tigers have also produced high quality bowlers over the years. They have delivered match winning performances to make Bangladesh a formidable limited overs unit in particular. Here are 10 of the finest bowlers to have represented Bangladesh since 2000 via current sports news cricket. Their sustained contributions underline the country’s cricketing progress on the global stage.

  1. Mashrafe Mortaza

Nicknamed the ‘Narail Express’, Mashrafe Mortaza is arguably Bangladesh’s greatest pace bowling spearhead. Debuting in 2001 aged only 17, his lively pace and ability to swing the ball both ways made him a prodigy.

However, Mortaza’s career almost ended prematurely due to knee injuries requiring multiple operations. Showing tremendous resilience, he reinvented his bowling around accuracy and clever variations. This paid rich dividends, with Mortaza claiming 275 international wickets across formats. He also led Bangladesh with distinction, including at the 2015 World Cup quarterfinals.  

  1. Abdur Razzak

Slow left-arm orthodox has been Bangladesh’s bowling trump card in limited overs cricket. Of them all, Abdur Razzak stood as the most successful wicket taking option during his prime years.   

Razzak relied more on clever variations than prodigious turn to take wickets. His arm ball caused plenty of leading edges and bowled batsmen over the years. Gradually improving his economy rate, Razzak proved highly dependable. With 207 wickets in 200 matches, Razzak only narrowly missed out on being Bangladesh’s highest wicket taker in ODIs. 

  1. Shakib Al Hasan 

No bowler better represents Bangladesh’s rise than the mercurial Shakib Al Hasan. The preeminent spin bowling all-rounder of his generation in world cricket, Shakib enjoys immense popularity at home.  

His clever left-arm orthodox spin makes him a consistent wicket taker in all formats. So far in his career, Shakib has claimed over 650 international scalps at excellent economy rates too. Shakib seems destined to claim several more victims with his career far from over yet. Alongside the bat, he promises to make greater contributions towards Bangladesh’s success.

  1. Mohammad Rafique 

One of Bangladesh cricket’s earliest icons, Mohammad Rafique played a key role in the country’s outfit in its formative years. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, Rafique used his height to extract vicious turn from the roughest of surfaces. With Bangladesh often playing on spin friendly home tracks during the 1990s, Rafique revelled.

During his 15-year long international career, Rafique claimed over 150 test and ODI wickets each. His miserly economy often strangled opposition momentum at crucial stages. Rafique’s standout 7/77 against Australia in Fatullah, 2005 highlighted his big match pedigree.  

  1. Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur Rahman’s unique ‘cutter’ makes him one the world’s most intriguing fast bowlers today. Using an unusual grip, he makes the ball ‘grip’ off the surface sharply to outsmart batsmen. This enabled the ‘Fizz’ to rise rapidly since his international debut in 2015. So far, he has claimed over 275 international wickets, including several starring match-winning spells.  

Only 26 years old, fitness permitting, Rahman seems destined to rise further up Bangladesh’s bowling charts in the future. For now, his clever variations mark him as a rare match winning pace talent the country has produced.

  1. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza  

Before his iconic namesake dominated Bangladesh cricket, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza blazed the pace bowling trail. Nicknamed ‘Koushik’ after Indian speedster Tinu Yohannan, Mortaza generated uncomfortable bounce with his strong shoulders. His nagging accuracy made Mortaza Bangladesh’s strike bowler across formats upon debut in 2001.  

With knee injuries cutting short his promise from 2003 onwards, Mortaza still claimed 148 international wickets. His role as pace spearhead helped Bangladesh make early strides amongst test playing nations.  

  • Enamul Haque Jr.

For a brief period, Enamul Haque Jr. promised to emerge as Bangladesh’s answer to spin legend Shane Warne. Possessing a dangerous ‘slider’ to complement orthodox left-arm spin, Haque claimed over 130 international wickets. This included Bangladesh’s first ever test hat-trick against Zimbabwe in 2005.  

However, loss of form coupled with Bangladesh’s spin riches saw Haque quickly fall out of favour after 2007. His promising talent partly laid the platform for greater spin success for Bangladesh.  

  1. Taskin Ahmed

Lanky pacer Taskin Ahmed first captured attention during the 2014 Under-19 World Cup in the UAE. He left observers wide-eyed by clocking speeds nearing 150 kmph alongside prodigious reverse swing. This rare combination of extreme pace and movement marked Ahmed as a special talent. It swiftly sparked his integration into Bangladesh’s senior team by early 2015 while still a teenager.

After a few injury setbacks temporarily halted his progress, Ahmed now relies more on clever variations in line, length and speed. However, he still breaches 145 kmph consistently alongside swinging the ball both ways. Having already claimed 95 international wickets at just 26 years of age, Ahmed has age on his side. If he can maintain fitness, Bangladesh potentially has a world-class strike bowler in Ahmed for years to come. His success could catalyze a new golden era in Bangladesh fast bowling.

  1. Al-Amin Hossain  

Mercurial pacer Al-Amin Hossain reliably generates uncomfortable bounce with his strong frame. After a sensational ODI debut with 5/26 against Sri Lanka in 2014, consistency improved too. 

 

Graduating to tests by 2015, Hossain’s numbers improved alongside clever bowling plans. So far claiming 86 international wickets, his career remains in early stages aged just 29 years currently.  With experience and further fitness gains, expect Hossain to claim plenty more victims with his hostile fast bowling.

  1. Shafiul Islam

Injury prone pacer Shafiul Islam sparkled briefly as a potential strike bowler for Bangladesh across formats. After a sensational test debut with 7 wickets against England in 2010, Islam regularly troubled top batting lineups. Using conventional swing alongside minimizing bad deliveries saw Islam accrue 75 test and 56 ODI wickets respectively.  

However, a spate of stress fractures and leg injuries prevented Islam fulfilling his promising potential after 2015. His success inspired the current crop of young Bangladeshi pacers striving to make a mark today like him earlier.  

Conclusion

Bangladesh boasts a growing assembly line of skilled bowlers responsible for giant strides made recently. According to latest international cricket news, with experience and better fitness support, this talent pool promises further success for the Tigers. Global glory surely awaits Bangladesh with such formidable wicket taking prowess leading the charge going ahead.