Omar Khaled Rumi (commonly known as Rumi, January 1950) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. A middle order batsman and a leg spin googly bowler, he played regularly for the national side between 1976–77 and 1983–84.Hasan Babli. "Antorjartik Crickete Bangladesh". Khelar Bhuban Prakashani, November 1994.

As a batsman

Playing for the North Zone side against the MCC at

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

in 1976–77, he top scored in the first innings for his side scoring 27. Then at

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

he scored 28 and 32. He continued to be a regular run-getter for his side until his retirement. Yet, he failed time and again, to convert starts into scores. Too often, he got out between 20 and 35, after doing all the hard work. Lack of concentration was the main factor, although his poor running between the wickets didn't help his cause either. Nevertheless, two innings of his are worth mentioning here. In early February 1978, a Decan Blues side led by the former

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n captain

Ajit Wadekar Ajit Laxman Wadekar (; 1 April 1941 – 15 August 2018) was an Indian international cricketer who played for the Indian national team between 1966 and 1974. Described as an "aggressive batsman", Wadekar made his first-class debut in 1958, ...

came to Dhaka (on their way home from a tour of the Far East). They played a 3-day match against the local side. This game was important for the local side as they sought to regain some of their lost confidence following a disastrous home series against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Batting first, the tourists scored 410/7, (Ajit Wadekar 103*, M.V. Narasimha Rao 83). In reply, the local side was in immediate trouble losing their openers cheaply. Rumy, batting at his usual No. 3 position, decided to take the bull by the horns. After playing one over calmly, he blasted three fours in the next. Skipper Raquibul Hasan, batting at the other end was a mere spectator. Rumy only scored 32 before falling to the guile of

M. V. Narasimha Rao Madireddy Venkat "Bobjee" Narasimha Rao (born 11 August 1954), is a former Indian cricketer who played in four Test cricket, Test matches from 1978 to 1979. He was also a cricket coach. Cricket career He was picked to play for India against ...

. (Rao, the Hyderabad allrounder, was at that time on the verge of playing for the Indian test team.) But it was the best innings of the match. After Rumy's departure, Raquibul Hasan batted diligently to score 64, and

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 ...

saved the match by scoring 320 in the 1st innings. After the end of the tour, the opposition captain Ajit Wadekar described Rumy as the best Bangladeshi batsman. The setting for his other memorable innings was the water Orton cricket ground in the

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. It was

's first ever international match abroad, against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. On difficult conditions, Rumy scored a patient 28. None of the other top order batsman reached double figures, and it was only the tail enders who took the score past the 100 mark. Rumy's effort was overshadowed by the brilliant bowling of Syed Ashraful Haque (7/23) which helped

win the match. But Rumy's contribution to the victory should not be underestimated.

As a bowler

A genuine all rounder, Rumy, apart from being a top order batsman, was the country's best leg spin bowler. His height helped him get extra bounce, and he had a well disguised googly. He had a highly successful spin combination with Syed Ashraful Haque and Lintu. The trio was in full flow at Dhaka, against the MCC in 1978–79. They bowled the tourists out for only 210, with Lintu taking 3/70, Rumy 3/63 and Ashraful 2/1. Earlier, at

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

, Rumy with 4/30 and Lintu with 4/49 had bowled out the MCC for only 166. Against

Hyderabad Blues ''Hyderabad Blues'' is a 1998 Indian drama film written, directed, and produced by Nagesh Kukunoor. Primarily shot in the English language, the film explores culture clash from an Indian American's perspective, vacationing back home in Hyderab ...

, in 1983–84, he took 2 wickets, and along with the off spinner Azhar (4 wickets) restricted the strong Hyderabad batting line up to 280/9.

ICC Trophy performances

Source:
BanglaCricket: Bangladesh in ICC Trophy (Retrieved on 1 July 2009)

In domestic cricket

He played most of his League cricket at Dhaka with Abahani KC and Bangladesh Biman. In 1976–77, he played a big part in Abahani winning the League title. In the final (against Victoria SC), he took five wickets with the ball, and then followed it with an unbeaten half century. Late in his career, in the 1983–84 National final, he took seven wickets with the ball against a strong

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

batting line up.

References

External links

CricketArchive
Bangladeshi cricketers Living people Abahani Limited cricketers Recipients of the Bangladesh National Sports Award 20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen 1950 births Place of birth missing (living people) {{Bangladesh-cricket-bio-stub