Former Bangladesh spinner Mosharraf Hossain dies aged 40

Mosharraf Hossain, the former Bangladesh left-arm spinner, has died aged 40 in Dhaka. He was suffering from brain cancer, which was diagnosed in March 2019. He had recovered after undergoing treatment, but the tumour relapsed in November 2020.

Nicknamed Rubel, Mosharraf had been in hospital over the last couple of weeks, but went home after another bout of chemotherapy recently.

Mosharraf was one of seven cricketers to score 3000 runs and take 300 wickets in first-class cricket in Bangladesh. Among the highlights of his career was winning the Player-of-the-Match award in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League final. He was the first of three Bangladeshi cricketers to win the award in a BPL final, the others being Tamim Iqbal (2019) and Alok Kapali (2015).

Mosharraf is also the Bangladesh cricketer with the longest gap between international appearances. After playing his debut series in 2008, his next call-up came in 2016 when he was picked for an ODI series against Afghanistan. He also played an ODI against England, which turned out to be his final international match. Although short, the comeback was testament to Mosharraf's consistent domestic form, rare for Bangladesh cricketers.

Mosharraf made his first-class debut in 2001-02 season, while he was a Dhaka University student. He grew to be a domestic giant, and a regular among the top five wicket-takers in competitions like the National Cricket League and Dhaka Premier League.

He is survived by his wife and one child.