Minhajul Abedin Nannu (; born 25 September 1965) is a former Bangladeshi
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er who played in 27
One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
s from 1986 to 1999. He captained Bangladesh twice during the Asia Cup of 1990–91. In local cricket arena he is more commonly known by his nickname, "Nannu".
Minhajul Abedin was one of the chief selectors of
BCB, along with
Akram Khan and
Habibul Bashar
Qazi Habibul Bashar (; born 17 August 1972) is a retired Bangladeshi cricketer and the former captain of the Bangladesh cricket team. Under the managership of Dav Whatmore, he has been found to be the most successful captain to lead the Bangla ...
.
Personal life
His elder brother,
Nurul Abedin played four One Day Internationals for
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
.
Domestic career
Nannu caught the attention of the cricket selectors in the early 1980s. In December 1983, he was selected to tour West Bengal. There, he wasn't very successful, but he enjoyed greater success playing for the
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
Tigers in the 1984 South-East Asia Cup. His top score of 60 against the Bangladesh national team went in vain, but his 44 against Hong Kong at
Chittagong
Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
, helped the Tigers win the match. Bowling gentle medium pacers, he took 2/8 against Singapore. After that, he enjoyed a successful tour of Kenya with the national team.
Playing for Abahani, he was consistently amongst the runs in the domestic cricket in 1984–85. But when he failed against the touring Lankans in March 1985, and against the Omar Quareshi XI in January 86, many started to doubt his credentials as an international cricketer. However, he performed consistently during the Pakistan Tour in March. He didn't get any big score, but was consistently amongst the runs. After this, he became a regular member of the national side for more than a decade.
A right-handed middle order batsman, Minhajul Abedin was part of Bangladesh's inaugural ODI game, against
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
at Moratuwa in 1985–86.
Minhajul Abedin didn't get a chance to play Test cricket for Bangladesh. However he did enjoy a brief first-class career, finishing with a record of 1709 runs at 51.78.
In 1998 in a match between Bangladesh and Bhahawalpur, he along with
Khaled Mahmud
Khaled Mahmud Sujon (born 26 July 1971) is a former Bangladeshi cricketer and current head coach of Dhaka Capitals.He is also a former Test and One Day International captain. A medium-pace bowler and middle-order batsman, he played internationa ...
set the highest 5th wicket partnership ever in
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...
cricket history(267*)
International career
Following the disastrous performance of the national side in the
1986 ICC Trophy
The 1986 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 11 June and 7 July 1986. It was the third ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, and as with the previous two tournaments, games between the 16 participating teams we ...
in England, BCCB, quite rightly decided to concentrate on domestic cricket over the next few seasons. The only major international cricket events for Bangladesh, in this period, were the 2nd South East Asia Cup in Hong Kong, in January 1988, (Bangladesh won the cup to qualify for the 4th Asia Cup in 1990) and the 3rd Asia Cup in Bangladesh, in Oct. 1988. (Bangladesh, as hosts, had automatically qualified). However, during the 1989–90 season there were regular international cricket for Bangladesh, as the national team prepared for the
4th ICC Trophy in Netherlands. Minhajul Abedin, was at that time at the peak of his form and over the season he produced some truly memorable efforts.
A decade later he bowed out of international cricket, in the
1999 Cricket World Cup
The 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, also branded as England '99, was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with selected matches also played in Wales, ...
. He was considered lucky to be in the squad having not made a 50 in his 22 innings prior. After making 5 against the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
in their opening game he found form with an unbeaten 68 in a win against
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
which gave him the man of the match award. Another unbeaten half century came in his next game, against the eventual champions Australia. Despite failing with the bat in the final game, against Pakistan in
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
, he played a major part in an upset victory by taking 1/29 off 7 overs with his offspin. It was Bangladesh's first ever win over a Test playing team.
Minhajul Abedin played in four
ICC Trophy
The Cricket World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the qualification pro ...
tournaments for Bangladesh. In 1986, he failed with the bat only averaging 25.16. His highest score of 50 came against Kenya. He was more successful with the ball. Bowling slow off cutters, Minhajul Abedin took 5 wickets at an impressive average of 9.40.
Nannu was the Vice-Captain and a vital member of the team that finished third in the 1990 ICC Trophy tournament in
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. He performed consistently with the bat, throughout the tournament. His total of 236 runs was the highest for his team. His top score (57) came in the Semi-Final against the eventual champions
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
. With the ball, he took 11 wickets at (21.18). His took 3/23 against
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
and 3/29 against
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
failed to reach the Semi-Finals four years later in Kenya, but Abadin performed commendably. He scored a total of 189 runs with two half centuries. He also captured 16 wickets at 14.75 a piece. Finally, he was the most experienced player of the triumphant campaign of 1997. There he scored a total of 185 runs and took 6 wickets.
Bangladesh in ICC Trophy
(Retrieved on 2008-04-25)
Captaincy
In 1988, Nannu was made the Vice captain to Gazi Ashraf Lipu. After two years as the deputy, he was elevated to national team captaincy in 1990–91. Under his captaincy, Bangladesh lost both the games of the Asia cup. The team, however, performed commendably against much stronger oppositions. Bangladesh, as expected won the 1992 South East Asia cup in Singapore. But perhaps his biggest success as a captain came in December of that year, as he led his side to a win over the Sri Lanka 'A' side in Dhaka, in 1992.
References
External links
*
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120222034651/http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2006/05/02/sports.htm
*
1965 births
Living people
Bangladesh One Day International cricketers
Bangladeshi cricketers
Bangladeshi cricket captains
Cricketers from Chittagong Division
Cricketers from Chittagong
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Bangladesh National Sports Award
20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen
{{Bangladesh-cricket-bio-stub