From youngest at Lord's to 100 Tests: Mushfiqur's 20-year, 6000-run legacy

Mushfiqur Rahim will become the first Bangladesh player to feature in 100 Tests when he takes the field in the second Test against Ireland in Mirpur. One of Bangladesh's longest-serving cricketers, Mushfiqur made his Test debut in 2005, making him the youngest debutant at Lord's - a record that still stands.

Now, gearing up for his 100th Test, Mushfiqur is among the only three cricketers to have a 20-year-long Test career after making their debut in the 2000s, alongside James Anderson and Brendan Taylor.

Taking on multiple roles in his marathon career, Mushfiqur captained 34 Tests and kept wickets in 55 of them but he would be mostly remembered as a run-aggregator, being the only Bangladesh batter to score over 6000 Test runs. Among the 18 Bangladesh batters to have scored over 1000 Test runs, Mushfiqur's average of 38.02 is only second to Tamim Iqbal (38.89). His tally of 12 Test hundreds is also the second best for Bangladesh.

Mushfiqur's emergence as a batter has been synonymous with Bangladesh's rise into a more competitive Test-playing nation. He averaged only 28.85 in his first 30 Tests, managing one hundred and nine fifties. Bangladesh won only two of their 39 Tests in this period - both against a depleted West Indies' side in the Caribbean in 2009.

Since 2013, Mushfiqur has averaged 42.53 in 69 Tests, amassing 11 hundreds. In this period, Bangladesh have become a competitive team in Asia, with their win percentage going up to 26.25%. Mushfiqur is the only Bangladesh batter to average 40 plus with a minimum of 1000 runs in this span.

The year 2013 was the turning point in Mushfiqur's career. It was the first calendar year in which he averaged 50-plus (54.45). He started that year scoring 200 against Sri Lanka in Galle, the first double hundred for a Bangladesh batter. His next double hundred - 219* against Zimbabwe in Mirpur in 2018 - is the highest individual score by a Bangladesh batter. It also made him the only Bangladesh batter and the only wicketkeeper-batter worldwide to score more than one Test double hundred.

Two years later, he did it again in Mirpur - another double ton (203) against Zimbabwe -becoming just the third batter in Test history to score three or more double hundreds while batting at number five or lower.

Mushfiqur has seven Player-of-the-Match awards, the most for Bangladesh in Tests. Three of them have come away from home. Only Tamim Iqbal has more than one Player-of-the-Match award for Bangladesh in away Tests.

Mushfiqur has been the backbone of Bangladesh's fortunes in away matches. He averages more away (38.70) than at home (37.53). He has most runs (2748) and most hundreds (six) for Bangladesh away from home. His 191 in the first Test against Pakistan in 2024 is the highest score in a win for Bangladesh away from home.

Mushfiqur featured in eight of Bangladesh's first nine overseas Test victories. Only Muthiah Muralidaran has appeared in more such wins (10).

Mushfiqur has the highest balls/dismissal ratio for a Bangladesh batter - 78.6. Statistically, it makes him the toughest Bangladesh batter to dismiss. He is, therefore, also the perfect foil for big partnerships. Bangladesh have had six 250-plus stands and Mushfiqur has been a common link in five of them.

He has Test hundreds in six nations, again the most for Bangladesh. He is also the only Bangladesh player to score a Test hundred in all four Asian countries where Test cricket has been played (excluding UAE).

The first innings is where Mushfiqur scored 10 out of his 12 hundreds and averaged 45.77. Among the 21 Bangladesh batters who have scored more than 1000 runs in the first innings of Tests, no one averages above 40.

Mushfiqur captained Bangladesh in 34 Tests and kept wickets in 55 Tests, both records for Bangladesh highlighting the weight of his workload. He combined both roles in 28 matches, the second-most in Test history after MS Dhoni's 60.

He averaged 37 as a wicketkeeper and an even better 39.38 when playing as a specialist batter. The added pressure of leadership never weighed him down either, as he averaged 41.44 with the bat as captain compared to 36.30 when not leading the side. With 3515 runs as wicketkeeper and over 113 dismissals (98 catches and 15 stumpings), he stands as one of Bangladesh's most significant Test cricketers.

It is fitting that Mushfiqur will play his milestone Test at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, a venue where he has scored exactly 5000 runs - a record for most international runs at a single venue.