ASM Raqibul Hasan (born 15 January 1953) is a Bangladeshi former

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 two ODIs in 1986. He is widely regarded as one of the best Bangladeshi batsman of his era. After retiring from international cricket, he has become a

match referee A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Most matches below international level do not ...

. He won the

Independence Award The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglades ...

in 2023 for his contribution to the field of sports.

Early years

An opening batsman, Raqibul Hasan made his first-class debut in 1968–69 at the age of 16, and was soon selected to represent

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# ...

's U19 team against the English Schoolboys. He was twelfth man in a Test match against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 ...

in 1969–70. Barely sixteen at the time, he seemed sure to have a lengthy Test career ahead of him. However, on 26 February 1971 a match started at Dhaka in the Bangabandhu Stadium. It was a four-day match against the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

side. The

team was playing and he was picked to play for them. At 18 years old he became the first and only

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

to play for a full-strength Pakistan team. The match couldn't be finished as on the last day demonstrations erupted all over the city and the stadium was invaded. Within a month of his debut, events in his homeland of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

took a shocking turn, and he was forced to flee for his life. It would be nine long months before

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 ...

won its independence, at the cost of millions of lives. In Raqibul Hasan's family there were six casualties. On top of that, he lost his best friend,

Haleem Chaudhri Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel, mostly known as Shaheed Jewel, was a Bengali cricketer and a recipient of Bir Bikrom, Bangladesh's third highest gallantry award for his actions during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. He played first-class cricket reg ...

, who was his opening partner for East Pakistan and his roommate on tour. And he lost his cricketing godfather, Mushtaq, the man who spotted him as a boy and gave him his first chance at club level.

In independent Bangladesh

After returning to Bangladesh, Raqibul Hasan became a key figure in building Bangladesh cricket. He led the side in their return to the international arena. In December 1976, when the visiting MCC started their tour with a two-day match 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 ...

against North Zone, he was named captain and top scored with 73 in the second innings. He bettered that, scoring 74 for South Zone 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 ...

. But his proudest moment of the season came at Dhaka as he was part of the Bangladesh team (led by Shamim Kabir) that played in the three-day unofficial Test match against MCC in January 1977. This historic match marked the resumption of international cricket in Dhaka.

In full ODIs

Raqibul Hasan played in two ODIs for Bangladesh. He scored 5 against Pakistan, and 12 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, ...

in the second

Asia Cup The Men's Asia Cup is the biennial cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council. The competition is contested by Asian members' senior men's national cricket teams, determining the continental champion of Asia. It was establis ...

in 1986.

In ICC Trophy

Raqibul Hasan played in three

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. In 1979, he scored 52 runs in 4 matches with a highest of 34 against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He did better in 1982, scoring 167 runs at an average of 27.83. His highest, 42, came against

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. Finally, in 1986, he scored 121 runs at an average of 24.19. His unbeaten 47 helped Bangladesh beat

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He retired from international cricket after the 1986 ICC Trophy.

Raqibul as captain

He had two spells as captain of

; first during 1977–79 and second during the 1983–84 season. He had a difficult time during the

series in January 1978. The Sri Lankan team was far superior, winning all the three-day unofficial Test matches. Raqibul Hasan failed to convert quite a few starts into any score of substance. He (and his team) did better, against the Indians (Deccan Blues) (led by former Indian 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, ...

) in February 1978. His defiant 64 helped the local side reach 320/9, despite the efforts of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

leg spinner

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 ...

, who took 6 for 120. This was the first time Bangladesh crossed the 300 mark in an international match. However, Raqibul failed with the bat the following season, against a relatively weak MCC squad. It was apparent that the captaincy was becoming a burden for him. So, the selectors chose wicketkeeper-batsman Shafiq-ul-Haq Hira as captain for the 1st ICC Trophy in England in 1979. Raqibul's second spell as captain came during the busy 1983–84 season. He led Bangladesh to victory in the 1984 South-East Asia Cup in Dhaka in January. In 1985,

Gazi Ashraf Gazi Ashraf Hossain (; born 29 December 1960), also known as Lipu, born in Dhaka Bikrampur is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who captained the Bangladesh national cricket team in its first seven One Day International (ODI) matches, two in the 1 ...

Hossain Lipu was named as the new captain.Hasan Babli. "Antorjartik Crickete Bangladesh". ''Khelar Bhuban Prakashani'', November 1994.

Domestic cricket

Raqibul played his League cricket in Dhaka for

Victoria Sporting Club Victoria Sporting Club (), commonly known as Victoria SC, is a football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1903, the club competes in the Dhaka Second Division League, the fourth tier of football in Bangladesh. They were relegated from ...

and Mohammedan Sporting Club.

References

External links

* *
"Meet the only Bengali to have played for Pakistan"
at

ESPNcricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

"Former captains praise brave new generation"
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raqibul Hasan Bangladeshi cricketers East Pakistan cricketers 1953 births Living people Cricketers from Dhaka Bangladesh One Day International cricketers University of Dhaka cricketers East Pakistan Whites cricketers Wicket-keepers St. Gregory's High School and College alumni Recipients of the Independence Award 20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen