Mushfiqur Rahim

From Bogura's narrow lanes to the world's grandest cricket stages, Mushfiqur Rahim's path has been one of quiet persistence. He toured England with Bangladesh as a 16-year-old in 2005, and his maiden Test century, against India at Chattogram in 2010, marked the moment the prodigy became the professional. He has carried that mature grit ever since.

While Tamim flashed and Shakib dazzled, Mushfiqur was Bangladesh's quiet spine. In an era when the team was learning to believe in itself, he was the one standing firm as wickets fell around him. In 2013 at Galle he ground out 200 against Sri Lanka, the first double-century by a Bangladeshi in Tests, and he later added another double against Zimbabwe. Across two decades he has been the country's most reliable red-ball battler.

Now in his late thirties, Mushfiqur has narrowed his focus to Test cricket, retiring from T20 internationals in 2022 and from ODIs in 2025. Bangladesh's most-capped Test player, with well over 15,000 international runs, his role is no longer only to score but to guard standards. Neither his character nor his credibility has ever been questioned.