Mohammad Ashraful

In February and March 2004, Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe. At the time, Zimbabwe were without many of their senior players, but still won the Test series 1–0 and the ODI series 2–1. The solitary ODI victory was Bangladesh's first international win since defeating Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup; Ashraful scored 51 runs from 32 balls in the match and was named man of the match. Ashraful returned to the team in December 2004 against the Indian cricket team and scored his second century, 158 not out, claiming the record for the highest individual Test score by a Bangladeshi. India's captain, Sourav Ganguly, described the innings as one of the best Test innings he had seen.

Ashraful made his first-class debut on 22 November 2000, playing for Dhaka Metropolis cricket team. He opened the batting, scoring 41 and 6; Ashraful also claimed five wickets for 59 runs in the first innings with his leg-spin bowling. Three days later Ashraful made his list A debut, again playing for Dhaka Metropolis and opening the batting he scored 22 and took two wickets as his team won the match. Ashraful scored his maiden first-class century in his second match, making 101 against Khulna cricket team. The seven wickets Ashraful took for 99 runs in a match against Chittagong Division in January 2001 remain his best bowling figures. Over the course of the season he played ten first-class matches – scoring 585 runs at an average of 30.78, including two centuries, and taking 39 wickets at an average of 25.48, including three five-wicket hauls. He also played nine list A matches, scoring 85 runs and taking four wickets.

Ashraful made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe on 11 April 2001, where he made 9 runs and Bangladesh lost the match by 36 runs. He took his first international wicket in the match, that of Andy Flower.

Ashraful made his Test debut on 6 September 2001 against Sri Lanka. He top-scored in each innings, and although Bangladesh slumped to an innings defeat, Ashraful scored 114, becoming the youngest player to score a Test century, beating Mushtaq Mohammad's record, and was named man of the match. He was the second Bangladesh player to score a Test century on debut, after Aminul Islam Bulbul in 2000 during Bangladesh's first Test. Trevor Chappell, a former coach of Bangladesh's national side, commented that "His determination, commitment and attention to detail would put a mature and an established person to shame. The manner he concentrates on his batting made me believe that the lad is destined to have a long cricketing journey." Following Ashraful's debut century, however, a prolonged string of poor performances resulted in him being dropped from the national team.

In November 2006, he set a league record score of 263, against Chittagong Division for Bangladeshi first-class cricket – although this record has since been bettered by Raqibul Hasan.

In 2006 he scored his third century, with 136 in the first test against Sri Lanka. Ashraful was selected for the Asian squad in the inaugural Afro-Asia Cup. With bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, he was one of two Bangladeshi players in the 15-man squad. Ashraful played in two of the matches, but failed to score a run.

Shortly after the World Cup, India toured Bangladesh for two Test matches and three ODIs. In the second Test, which Bangladesh lost by an innings and 239 runs, Ashraful scored the fastest half-century in Test cricket in terms of time (taking 27 minutes) and equal second-fastest when measured in balls faced (scored off 26 balls). Aside from the 67 he managed in one of the fastest half-centuries in Test cricket, Ashraful managed just five more runs in the series; in two ODIs, he scored 41 runs. After defeats in both series, Habibul Bashar stepped down from Bangladesh's one day captaincy; Mohammad Ashraful was appointed the team captain in all forms of cricket on 2 June 2007. At the time, he had played 35 Test and 101 ODIs and had some experience of captaincy at domestic level. Aged 22, he was the second-youngest international captain

Ashraful and Mortaza took on these roles from the start of the Sri Lanka tour in June 2007. Whatmore had declined to extend his contract and Shaun Williams took over as coach on a temporary basis. Bangladesh lost all three Tests by an innings; in a series in which his teams batsmen struggled – in the second Test they registered their lowest scored in an innings (62) – Ashraful scored the most runs for Bangladesh with 218 at an average of 43. In the second Test Ashraful combined with wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim to score 191 for the sixth wicket, establishing a record for Bangladesh, and Ashraful scored 129 not out. Bangladesh also lost the three-match ODI series that followed 3–0. In September 2007 South Africa hosted the ICC World Twenty20. Victory against West Indies in the first round was enough to ensure Bangladesh's progression to the second round, although it was the only one of their five matches they won. In the match against West Indies, Ashraful scored a record-breaking half-century, coming off just 20 deliveries it was at the time the fastest T20I half-century in terms of balls faced; he held onto the record for six days before Yuvraj Singh claimed it in a match against England (his 50 took just 12 balls).

Ashraful created some controversy in March 2008 when he slapped a fan who called him "rubbish" while he was training at an indoor stadium in Dhaka. This happened at a time when Ashraful was being heavily criticised in the media for his poor form with the bat and questionable tactics on the field as captain. The BCB fined him 25% of his salary for the month of March 2008 for violating the Code of Conduct. He later apologised for the incident.

On 6 February 2009, Ashraful took part in a player auction for the 2009 Indian Premier League. The Mumbai Indians bought him for his base price of US$75,000, but he only played one game and scored just 2 runs.

After an extended run of poor form and Bangladesh's first-round exit in the World Twenty20 2009, Ashraful was sacked as captain in June 2009. He was replaced by Mashrafe Mortaza for the tour of West Indies, with Shakib Al Hasan taking the position of vice-captain. It was hoped that Ashraful could climb out of the batting form slump in all formats in the international game with the release of the pressure of the captaincy.

Ashraful was dropped when England toured Bangladesh in February and March 2010. He was recalled for Bangladesh's tour of England two months later. He struggled in June's 2010 Asia Cup, and was subsequently dropped; he was recalled for the ODI leg of the England tour due to injuries to the squad. After a poor run of form, Ashraful was dropped for ODI series against New Zealand in October 2010. Though he was out of the squad, the following month when the BCB announced its central contracts for the coming year Ashraful was one of six players given the highest level of contract (A+).

He returned to domestic cricket in 2011, scoring a century for Dhaka Division in the opening match of the National Cricket League. Dhaka won the one-day competition, and Ashraful, who was the second-highest run-getter with 331 runs and claimed 7 wickets from 7 matches, was named player of the tournament.

During a match in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League in January 2012, Ashraful was involved in an incident with Tamim Iqbal that led to the latter being banned for one match and fined. The Bangladesh Cricket Board founded the six-team Bangladesh Premier League in 2012, a twenty20 tournament to be held in February that year. The BCB made Ashraful the 'icon player' for Dhaka Gladiators. Dhaka won the tournament, and in twelve matches Ashraful scored 258 runs, making him the BPL's second highest run-scorer amongst Bangladesh batsmen.

He was retained in the Test side for the Pakistan series in 2012, but was dropped after the first Test, in which he scored only one run. When the BCB announced its central contracts for 2012, Ashraful's A+ contract was not renewed.

In August 2016 Ashraful's ban was partially lifted, allowing him to play in domestic cricket in Bangladesh. He became eligible to play in international fixtures in 2018.

In October 2018, he was named in the squad for the Chittagong Vikings team, following the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League.

Mohammad Ashraful admitted to spot-fixing during the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League. The Bangladesh Cricket Board reacted immediately by suspending him from all forms of the game temporarily, until the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit submits its report on investigations into fixing. The alleged fixing involves a match between the Dhaka Gladiators and the Chittagong Vikings in 2019 teams during the second edition of the BPL on 2 February 2013. The 28-year-old Ashraful was allegedly paid about $12,800 to lose the match, but the cheque he was given later bounced, according to the local media. He was also allegedly involved in fixing another match 10 days later, against the Barisal Burners, which his team lost by seven wickets. In June 2014, the Bangladesh Cricket Board found him guilty and banned him for eight years but reduced to five years (with two years suspended) later on.

Happy Birthday Mohammad Ashraful: Best Knocks By The Bangladesh Batsman | Watch Videos From LatestLY

Bangladesh batsman Mohammad Ashraful celebrates his 36th birthday on Tuesday (July 7, 2020). Hailing from Dhaka, Ashraful's career is marred with controversies. However, nothing can deny the fact that he's one of the most talented batsmen to have donned the Bangladesh jersey. The right-handed batsman is blessed with an impeccable technique through which he has played several astonishing knocks. In fact, he is the youngest batsman in history to score a Test century, achieving the feat at the age of 17 years and 61 days. Ashraful was touted to become one of the greats of the game. However, he faced a five-year ban from international cricket in 2013 on spot-fixing charges. Nevertheless, he still aims to make a comeback. Meanwhile, as Ashraful turns a year older, let's look at some of his best performances. Happy Birthday Mohammad Ashraful: Best Knocks By The Bangladesh Batsman

Mohammad Ashraful's Birthday Celebration | HappyBday.to - Page 3

Mohammad Ashraful Alam

Happy 31st birthday to Shakib Al Hasan !