Alauddin Babu

Alauddin Babu is a young Bangladeshi medium pacer and a handy lower-order batsman, who came into limelight when he was just 17. He began by playing a lot of age-group cricket for Bangladesh. In 2008, in Dhaka's First Division League, he took a brilliant 8-wicket haul that earned him a place in the Bangladesh Under-19 side.

His consistent performances saw him being selected for the National Cricket Academy in 2010. Not long after that, he made his first-class debut for Rajshahi Division, subsequently moving to Rangpur when the region became a divisional cricket team the following year.

Babu has also performed well at the first-class level with the bat as an aggressive lower-order batsman. However, injuries have kept him out of the team frequently. In 2013, Babu faced a predicament when he put himself in the cricketing map by conceding 39 runs in an over in the Dhaka Premier Division against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club - that turned out to be a list A record for most number of runs in an over.

In 2016, the all-rounder found a fresh lease of life through the Bangladesh Premier League where he produced many match-winning performances for his team - Dhaka Dynamites. Spotting his talent, Chittagong Vikings signed him in the draft for the 2017 season.

By Sriram AS