Taijul Islam (

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 ...

: তাইজুল ইসলাম; born 7 February 1992) is a Bangladeshi

left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin or left-arm off spin, also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of spin bowling in cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven ...

ner who plays for the

Bangladesh national cricket team The Bangladesh men's national cricket team (), commonly known as The Tigers, is the national cricket team of Bangladesh, administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). They are a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with ...

. He made his international debut 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 ...

in September 2014. Taijul Islam was selected for Bangladesh A after a strong 2013–14 domestic season, and went on to make his Test debut for Bangladesh on its 2014 tour of the West Indies. He took a

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Takin ...

on debut, and, when Zimbabwe toured Bangladesh later in the year, took figures of 8/39, the best figures by any Bangladeshi at Test level. He made his ODI debut later in the series, and took a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, becoming the first ever player to do so on debut.

Domestic career

Taijul Islam has played at domestic level for

Rajshahi Division Rajshahi Division () is one of the eight first-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population at the 2022 Census of 20,353,119. Rajshahi Division consists of 8 districts, 70 upazilas (the next lower administrat ...

and North Zone, in the

Bangladesh Premier League Bangladesh Premier League (), also known as Dutch-Bangla Bank BPL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Bangladesh organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It was formed in 2011 by the BCB, after the su ...

(BPL) for

Duronto Rajshahi Durbar Rajshahi () is a Bangladeshi franchise Twenty20 cricket team. The team is based in Rajshahi in Bangladesh and competes in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 franchise cricket competition. The team is currently owned by the V ...

, and in the Dhaka Premier Division for Prime Doleshwar SC. He made his first-class debut for Rajshahi Division during the 2010–11 season of the

National Cricket League The National Cricket League () is the oldest domestic first-class cricket competition in Bangladesh. It is contested by teams representing seven of the eight regional divisions of Bangladesh (there is no team from Mymensingh Division) as well as ...

. Taijul Islam initially played in his hometown,

Natore Natore is a city ("town" in some sources) in western Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of the Natore District. Its current administrator is Asha Khatun. The Narod river is passing through the center of the city with pollution from upstream industr ...

, before moving up to the

league system. He toured

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, ...

with the Bangladesh national under-19s during the 2009 season, and played three under-19

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 and one under-19 Test. Taijul Islam made his first-class debut for

in April 2011, during the 2010–11 season of the

.First-class matches played by Taijul Islam (21)
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 October 2014. He played three matches late in the season, taking 14 wickets (including three four-wicket hauls). This impressed Khaled Mashud, a former captain of Bangladesh and leading figure in the Rajshahi team, and reputedly guaranteed his place in the squad for several seasons.Mohammad Isam (7 September 2014)
"Taijul bursts out of obscurity"
– ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 October 2014. For the 2011–12 season, Taijul Islam secured a place with Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in the Dhaka Premier Division, which, although it did not yet have list-A status, was one of the strongest one-day leagues in the country. He was also signed to

for the inaugural season of the

, playing three matches, including the team's semi-final loss to the

Barisal Burners Fortune Barishal () is a franchise cricket team that plays in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), representing the country's Barishal Division. The team was originally established in 2012 for the inaugural BPL season as the Barisal Burner ...

.Twenty20 matches played by Taijul Islam (22)
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 October 2014. Taijul Islam gained more game time during the following season, taking nine wickets from nine matches. Following on from this, in August 2013 he represented the Bangladesh under-23 side at the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, which constituted his first matches at list-A level. The Dhaka Premier Division gained list-A status for its 2013 season, running from September to November, and Taijul Islam was one of the competition's leading wicket-takers, finishing with 22 wickets from 15 matches (behind only Farhad Reza for Prime Doleshwar). This including figures of 6/19 against

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club (Bengali language, Bengali: শেখ জামাল ধানমন্ডি ক্লাব) is a professional association football, football club based in the Dhanmondi area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club com ...

(led by

Mushfiqur Rahim Mushfiqur Rahim (; born 9 May 1987) is a Bangladeshi cricketer and the former captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team. He is a right-handed middle-order Batting (cricket), batter and wicket-keeper in the national team. Mushfiqur started ...

), a personal best. Taijul Islam represented another side sponsored by Prime Bank Limited in a brief Victory Day Cup series at the end of December 2013. He played seven games in that competition, which was his second

Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

tournament of the year – he had also represented Rajshahi Division at the Bangladesh Games in April. The 2013–14 season was Taijul Islam's breakout season at first-class level. In the four-zone Bangladesh Cricket League, he took 37 wickets in four matches for North Zone, an amalgam of the Rajshahi and

Rangpur Division Rangpur Division (; ; ) is a first-level Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. It covers the northernmost part of the country with a population of about 18 million inhabitants within an area of . Rangpur Division shar ...

teams. This included match figures of 12/122 (7/71 and 5/51) against East Zone, the first

ten-wicket haul In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

of his career. Against

Central Zone Central Zone may refer to: Places * Central Indo-Aryan languages, or the "Central Zone" of Indo-Aryan, a language group of India * Central Zone, Bhutan, an administrative district of Bhutan * Central Zone of São Paulo, an administrative zone of th ...

, Taijul Islam took match figures of 11/177 (5/88 and 6/89), while in the tournament's final, against South Zone, he took 10/242, which included first-innings figures of 8/86. For these performances, Taijul Islam was named Man of the Tournament. His NCL season for Rajshahi Division was less successful, with 18 wickets from seven matches, though this including a ten-wicket haul against

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division () is a northeastern Divisions of Bangladesh, division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by t ...

, for which he was named man of the match. In October 2018, Taijul Islam was named in the squad for the

Khulna Titans Khulna Tigers () is a franchise Twenty20 cricket team representing the Khulna division in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 cricket tournament. The franchise was owned by Gemcon Sports and was founded in 2016 as a replacement for ...

team, following the draft for the

2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League The Bangladesh Premier League 2019, also known as BPL Season 6 or United Commercial Bank Ltd, UCB BPL 2019 Powered by TVS Motor Company, TVS (for sponsorship reasons), was the sixth season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the top level p ...

. He was the leading wicket-taker for the team in the tournament, with thirteen dismissals in twelve matches. In August 2019, he was one of 35 cricketers named in a training camp ahead of Bangladesh's 2019–20 season. In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Rajshahi Royals in the

2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League The Bangladesh Premier League 2019–20, also known as BPL Season 7 or Bangabandhu BPL Presented by AKASH DTH and Powered by TVS (for sponsorship reasons), was the seventh season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the top level profession ...

International career

2014 to 2020

After Taijul Islam's performances during the 2013–14 domestic season, he was named in Bangladesh A's 15-man squad for its tour of the West Indies in May 2014. Bangladesh's senior team also toured later in the year, in August and September 2014. Taijul Islam was a late addition to Bangladesh's squad for the two-Test series, replacing another left-arm spinner,

Abdur Razzak ʻAbd al-Razzāq (ALA-LC romanization of ) is a male Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Razzāq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the Muslim theophori ...

. On debut at

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital and largest city of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The city, located on the main island of Saint Vincent, has the main port and the biggest commercial center of the islands. With a population of 12,909 (2012), K ...

Arnos Vale Ground Arnos (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. Geography Arnos is located some 25 km north-west of Pau, Pyrénées-Atlant ...

(on Saint Vincent), he took 5/135 in

the West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island countries and 19 dependencies in three archipelagos: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser An ...

' first innings of 484/7 declared, bowling the majority of overs in tandem with Shuvagata Hom, an off-spinner also making his Test debut. Taijul Islam thus became the sixth Bangladeshi bowler to take a five-wicket haul on his Test debut. Taijul Islam was subsequently selected for Bangladesh's home series against Zimbabwe, in October and November 2014. In the first Test of the three-Test series, he took 8/39 (his career best till now) from 16.5 overs in Zimbabwe's second innings, helping to bowl the side out for 114 runs. Taijul Islam became the first Bangladeshi to take eight wickets in a Test innings, breaking

Shakib Al Hasan Shakib Al Hasan (; born 24 March 1987) is a former Bangladeshi international cricketer who played Test cricket, Test, One Day International, ODI and Twenty20 International, T20I cricket for the Bangladesh national cricket team, Bangladeshi cr ...

's previous record (7/36 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 ...

in 2008). Only two left-arm bowlers have recorded better figures in a Test innings – Sri Lanka's

Rangana Herath Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath (; ; born 19 March 1978), known as Rangana Herath is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all forms of cricket game and a former Test cricket captain for Sri Lanka. Considered as one of the ...

(9/127) and England's Johnny Briggs (8/11). Later in the match, Taijul Islam featured in an unbroken 19-run partnership for the eighth wicket, hitting the winning runs as Bangladesh won by three wickets. He was subsequently named man of the match. Making his

debut for Bangladesh against Zimbabwe on 1 December 2014, Taijul Islam finished with figures of 4/11 from seven overs, including a hat-trick. He became the fourth Bangladeshi to take an ODI hat-trick, after

Shahadat Hossain Shahadat Hossain (born: 7 August 1986) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his Test debut in 2005 during Bangladesh's first tour of England. When he came to play in the international scene he was cited by the then coach Dav Whatmore as the fas ...

, and Rubel Hossain, and the first to take a hat-trick in ODI debut. At the 2015 World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand, Taijul Islam was included in Bangladesh's squad, but played only a single match, taking 0/58 against

. He was dropped from the squad for the team's next international ODI series, when Pakistan toured in April and May 2015, but was named in the squad for the two-Test series. In the first Test in

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

, Taijul Islam took 6/163 in Pakistan's only innings, the second-best figures by a Bangladeshi bowler against Pakistan (after

's 6/82 in 2011). In April 2018, he was one of ten cricketers to be awarded a central contract by the

Bangladesh Cricket Board The Bangladesh Cricket Board (; abbreviated as BCB), formerly known as Bangladesh Cricket Control Board, is the governing body of cricket in Bangladesh. It became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1977, and a Lis ...

(BCB) ahead of the 2018 season. In September 2019, he was named in Bangladesh's

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

(T20I) squad for the 2019–20 Bangladesh Tri-Nation Series. He made his T20I debut for Bangladesh, against

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 ...

, on 13 September 2019, taking a wicket with his first delivery.

2021 to present

In May 2022, he was included in the Test and ODI squad of Bangladesh for West Indies tour. He was not included in the playing XI for the Test series and in the first two ODI matches. He was included in the playing XI for the third ODI, making his comeback in ODI since he last played against Zimbabwe in March 2020. In the match, he picked up his first

conceding 28 runs, his best bowling figure in ODIs. His bowling helped Bangladesh sweep the ODI series by a 3–0 margin.

References

External links