Shahriar Nafees

Born on January 25, 1986, Shahriar Nafees is a left-handed opener who occasionally plays in the middle order as well. Thrust into the senior squad after just 5 matches, Shahriar was selected for the tour of England in 2005. He did not feature in any matches but it was a good learning experience for Shahriar. He did get his chances in the ODI's and made maximum use of it cracking 75 against Australia at Canterbury.

His impressive domestic performances earned him a spot in the Test line up in the next tour and although he started modestly, he ended it with a fine fifty. 2006 was the year that saw him gain recognition amongst his peers. He scored a superb 138 against the touring Aussies, his first Test ton and ended the series with a fine 79. The year also saw him reach his peak in the ODI format scoring 3 hundreds, all against Zimbabwe. He was nominated as the vice captain of the Bangladesh team with a view of grooming him further. Shahriar was named as the batsman and cricketer of the year by the Bangladesh Cricket board while also being nominated for the ICC young cricketer of the year award.

However just like some of his peers, Shahriar too lost his way into the wilderness with a big score saturated by some modest efforts. He signed up with the Indian Cricket League in 2008, but got back into mainstream cricket a year later. Being in and out of the squad has not helped him develop his talent further. One of the most educated of the lot in Bangladesh cricket, Shahriar took time off from the game prior to joining the ICL to pursue his MBA course.

Shahriar was recalled for the 2011 ICC WC but has not had too many chances in the playing XI. However, with age on his side and being one of the most talented performers, Shahriar can hope for a good future ahead.

He has been in and out of the squad after a good series against Australia just after the 2011 World Cup. He was dropped after he endured a run of low scores after scoring a fifty in the first Test against West Indies. The last game that Nafees played for Bangladesh was a Test match against Zimbabwe in July 2013, he scored 29 and 11 and was dropped after Bangladesh went on to lose that game.

Nafees was made the icon player for Barisal Burners in the first edition of Bangladesh Premier League. Even though he was the icon player he played only 5 matches and scored 38 runs. In the second edition, he joined Khulna Royal Bengals and was made the skipper. He scored a maiden hundred and became the first Bangladeshi player to do so in the League.


By Pradeep KrishnamurthyAs of April 2014