Naimur Rahman

Naimur Rahman was Bangladesh's first Test captain, but his Test career lasted only eight Test matches over three seasons before he was sacked from captaincy in 2001 and as a national cricketer in December 2002.

But the captaincy and sackings say very little of what the man, nicknamed Durjoy by his parents, is all about. Born in Manikganj, a district town on the west of capital Dhaka, Naimur was sent to BKSP, the famed sports institute, as one of its first students. The 1987 batch yielded two other national cricketers, Sajjad Ahmed and Moniruzzaman, before BKSP became one of the premier sources of cricketers in the country. BKSP's nondescript outlook at the time didn't deter Naimur's entry into professional cricket and he was quickly marked out as one of the future cricketers, captaining age-group teams till 1994. He made his ODI debut in the 1995 Asia Cup game against Pakistan and was one of many success stories of the 1997 ICC Trophy campaign, which helped him cement a regular place.

His flighted off-spin was effective on the Bangladeshi tracks while he could bring out the big hits within the first 15 overs or as a No.6 batsman, but he never scored a fifty in Tests or ODIs. He was a cricketer who hardly backed down from a fight in the middle, but as with many cricketers of the era, lacked international quality.

However, he did manage a six-wicket haul in Bangladesh's inaugural Test, against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, in which he was also the captain. He was given the leadership role a month before, taking over from Aminul Islam for the 2000 ICC Knock-Out World Cup in Kenya. The six-for came in India's first innings, as they chased Bangladesh's 400, and his victims included Sachin Tendulkar. It was a rare day of international success for Naimur, who didn't get more than two wickets in an innings in his subsequent Test career.

His captaincy stint was shortlived, and went with the defeat to Zimbabwe at home. And as the runs also dried up, a career-threatening knee injury cropped up. He played his last international game, a Test match, against West Indies in December 2002, though he did continue playing first-class cricket for two more seasons.

He subsequently joined politics from his hometown Manikganj, though he has enjoyed his position as the president of Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), the players' association. He was also a national selector but quit after a year in office in 2008.
Mohammad Isam