On a winter day of 1993 at the Sidhdheswary cricket training ground, one of
the breeding grounds of many national cricketers, a couple of net practices
were going on. Former Bangladesh skipper Khaled Mahmud Sujon and Imran Hamid
Partho were doing serious net practice for Amarjyoti, a club that used to play
in the second division cricket league. Mohammad Rafique, ace spinner of Bangladesh,
had played for Amarjyoti in the previous season and was also there to share
the net practice. Cricket in Bangladesh in those days were easily outclassed
by football and Bangladesh were only playing ICC Trophy without any apparent
success.
A young boy of about 9-10 was a regular feature at the net practices. He always
arrived in time dressed in cricket whites; a bit oversized on his lean body.
He was happy to work as a net boy, nothing more. Day after day, month after
month he continued to be a regular feature of the practice session of Amarjyoti
club. The club completed one season in the second division league, net practice
stopped and the boy was not seen anywhere near the Sidhdheswary ground for the
rest of the year.
Next year, the net session started and everyone was surprised to see the boy,
back again to perform his duty with religious regularity. Almost nothing changed;
the same face, the same whites and the same dedication. One day Khaled Mahmud,
captain of Amarjyoti club, asked him, “Do you want to be a cricketer�
Yes, the answer was very prompt from him. “I can bowl a bit, leg spin
bowling. If you allow me, I can show you some,†said the boy who looked
no more than 9-10 years old. Surprisingly enough, Mahmud listened to the boy's
appeal.
The first batsman in the net was Imran Hamid Partho, a dashing left handed
opener who later played for Bangladesh A and Abahani. At that time he was a
leading performer for Amarjyouti and was particularly merciless against spinners.
With all the concentration in the world, the young boy delivered his first ever
ball in the competitive world of cricket. The ball, which could have disappeared
from the small field, deceived Imran with turn and bounce and Imran missed it
completely. In utter disbelief everyone witnessed the incident, Imran was shaking
his head. The same thing happened in the next ball and the boy continued to
cause all sorts of trouble for Imran. Batsmen came to the net one after another,
and the magic continued. After the net session, they boy with a smiling face
said, “See, I can bowl leg spin a bitâ€. He was very happy to become
a part of the net session that he had witnessed for years with a dream to participate.
Suddenly the club officials became very interested in the boy and wanted to
make sure that he turns up the very next morning. The next day was a busy day
for him; the club officials took him to the BCB office of the Bangabandhu National
Stadium to get him registered with the club. After searching all available sportswear
shops, they somehow managed to find him proper cricket whites, which after a
good amount of tailoring, fitted the lean body of the boy.
In the next seven days he bowled as many balls as he wished, and all the players
knew they had a match winner in their team. He got the first opportunity to
bat in the net after 8 days; it was the day before the first match. More surprise
was waiting for everyone in the field; this time the balls were disappearing
everywhere with some sweet sound from the willow of the boy. He was playing
every type of shots present in the coaching manual with unbelievable ease. Khaled
Mahmud, the captain of Amarjyoti, exclaimed in surprise, “You really bat
well, exceptionalâ€. “I am basically a bowler who can bat a bitâ€,
was the modest answer from the boy.
Match day. Everyone in the field was very astonished to see the name a very
young boy in the playing XI of Amarjyoti. After first 10 overs, Mahmud turned
to the young prodigy. The umpire asked the name of the bowler. "Ashraful….Mohammad
Ashraful," was the answer. The leg spinner Ashraful won the match for Amarjyoti.
A talent was born and history was being made. Ashraful got the return of all
his dedication and sincerity. A net boy, who passed days after days collecting
ball from the net without any return, became the most valuable player of the
team at the age of 10.
At that time, former spinner and Mohammedan player, Wahidul Gani was a leading
mentor of young cricketers. Mahmud took Ashraful to Wahidul Gani to show the
talent he had discovered. On the very first day Gani realized the arrival of
a star in his training camp. Ashraful became a very special student of Wahidul
Gani, and the mentor used all his expertise to shape up the future of Bangladesh
cricket.
Ashraful stayed with Amarjyoti for only one season. In the very next season
he moved to Victoria Sporting Club who were playing in the first division cricket
league. Time started to pass very quickly for Ashraful. He was called for Bangladesh
age group teams starting from U-13 to U-21’s. A leg spin bowler soon turned
into the mainstay of batting in every team he played. In 16th January 2000,
he made his debut for U-19 world cup at the age of 15 years and made his first
class debut for Dhaka Division in 22nd November 2000.
Within one year, he played for Bangladesh U-19’s in ICC U-19 world cup,
Bangladesh U-17’s in ICC U-17 Asia Cup, Dhaka Metropolis in National Cricket
League and Bangladesh Cricket Board XI against Australian Academy. After showing
his brilliance everywhere, Ashraful finally made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe
in April 2001 at the age of 16 years. In September 2001, he made his historic
Test debut against Sri Lanka in the Asian Test Championship and hammered a brilliant
century to become the youngest player to make a Test century.
Now I will take you to May 1, 2003. Bangladesh were playing the 2nd Test against
South Africa in Dhaka. After reducing South Africa to 63-4, Bangladesh failed
to keep up the pressure . Rudolph and Boucher were repairing the South African
innings and formed a 107 run partnership to lift South Africa to 170-4. Bangladesh
captain Khaled Mahmud turned to Mohammad Ashraful and he repaid the faith immediately.
He lured Rudolph out of the crease and wicketkeeper Mohammad Selim did the rest.
It was like the action replay of something that happened 8 years ago when Amarjyoti
captain Khaled Mahmud turned to the unknown 10 year old boy to spin some magic.
The characters were the same but the arena was vastly different. Ashraful completed
the first cycle of his cricketing career, from a 2nd division club net of Siddheswary
ground to the Test match gournds of Bangabandhu National Stadium.
In his roller coaster international career, Ashraful produced some magic with
the bat but failed live up to the expectations on numerous occasions. In spite
of all of his failures, he was always regarded as the best batsman of Bangladesh
cricket, someone who can turn the table around for Bangladesh. Whenever bad
days came, he turned to his mentor Wahidul Gani. Gani eagerly waited to see
his student and the pair worked hard to see off the hard times. Ashraful's sincerity
and dedication always brought him back from the brink of failure.
On June 2, 2007, the Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed Mohammad Ashraful as
Bangladesh captain. On the very first day of his glory, he returned to the Sidhdheswary
ground, the birth place of the cricketer Ashraful. The lean young boy, who
waited for months with sincerity and dedication to get his first chance in the
nets, went back to the same field as the flag bearer of Bangladesh cricket.