Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Mehidy Hasan had a Test fifer even before turning 19. Born in Khulna, his parents wanted him to excel in studies. But, Mehidy had different ideas and chose cricket over academics. His talent was first discovered by former Bangladeshi off-spinner Sheikh Salahuddin. Mehidy captained Bangladesh in the Under-19 World Cup in 2014 at the age of 16 and made his first-class debut for Khulna against Rajshahi Division in February 2015.

It was in 2016, when Mehidy Hasan grabbed headlines. It started with the U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, where he led his country for the second time. His all-round performances helped his team finish third and he was named the player of the tournament. Soon, he had a tremendous first-class season. He finished the season with 30 wickets at an average of 16.43. These performances earned him a maiden international call-up for the two-match Test series against Alastair Cook's England.

Mehidy made his Test debut in October 2016 at Chittagong. His first spell with the new ball lasted ten overs that accounted for two wickets. Being one day old in the Test arena, he had a five-wicket haul against his name and he eventually finished with figures of 6/80. Bangladesh lost that Test by a close margin of 22 runs, but that had no effect on the youngster. He bettered his performance by notching up two more six-wicket hauls in the second Test at Dhaka which helped Bangladesh beat England for the very first time in the longest format. He was named the Man of the Match as well as the Man of the Series.

In the 2016 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, he represented Rajshahi Kings who finished runners-up. Away from home, in alien conditions in New Zealand, Mehidy managed to take just four wickets in two Tests. In the one-off Test at Hyderabad against India, he registered his maiden Test fifty against the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

2017 was a memorable year for Bangladesh in Test cricket as they notched up their first ever wins over Sri Lanka (away) and Australia at home. Both the series ended as draws and Mehidy played a crucial role in both of those campaigns. His unerring accuracy is his biggest strength, particularly on tracks that help the spinners. Like most Bangladeshis, he also had a forgettable South African tour where he played just the one Test without a single wicket despite bowling more than 65 overs in the match.

By now, it was clear that Mehidy’s career trajectory was going only one way and that was upwards. He picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in a Test series against the West Indies and later in the series, registered the best match figures by a Bangladeshi bowler by picking up 12/117. And right throughout, his batting was improving as well. He played several crucial knocks and bailed Bangladesh out of tricky situations. A maiden Test ton came in 2021 against the West Indies as well.

Mehidy was able to translate his great form in red ball cricket to white ball cricket as well. He became a vital cog in Bangladesh’s lineup and in May 2021, even climbed up to No. 2 in the ICC’s ODI Bowling rankings. His maiden ODI ton, a 100* off 83, came in another crunch situation as he led his team to a win over India to seal a bilateral series played in late 2022. His all-round abilities have meant that he’s been an integral part of Bangladesh’s setup across formats.

By Abhinand Raghavendran and Hariprasad Sadanandan