Not Even in the XI, Yet Five Wickets on Debut: Rakib Hawlader's Thrilling Rise

With a little more luck, Rakib Hawlader could now have been in Oman. In the Youth Cricket League last April he took 13 wickets in four innings and was called up to the Under-19 camp, but he did not make the squad for the four-match series against Afghanistan in Oman.

Disappointment naturally surrounded him at the time. Rakib knew that if you cannot stay on the age-group cricket train, you fall behind in the race. But he did not know that fate had written a different story for him.

While teammates of his age are playing for the Under-19 team, left-arm spinner Rakib has already made his first-class debut. Even calling it just a debut does not capture the event — he took five wickets on debut. And there is more drama: he was not even in the XI for the match in which he took those five wickets.

Rakib was not in Khulna's XI against Chattogram in the National Cricket League. During the second-innings batting, left-arm spinner Samiun Basir was struck on the head by the ball. That was when Rakib first learned that a chance might come his way.

Telling that story, Rakib said: 'Ratul bhai (Samiun) kept batting even after being hit on the head. But after returning to the dressing room he started feeling unwell. Later, when he was taken to hospital, Tushar (Imran) sir told me that I might have to play, so I should stay ready.'

Rakib is not yet 18 and had never played any format of senior cricket before. Yet he had to take the field midway through a match. Asked how he felt, his answer carries the simplicity of adolescence: 'At first I felt a little scared.'

That fear disappeared after he took the field as Samiun's like-for-like substitute. As the youngest cricketer, the affection of the senior players in the dressing room became his courage on the field. Rakib said: 'Mithun bhai and Mehedi bhai told me, just bowl your own bowling. I did not think anything special either. I just bowled my own way.'

It was Tushar Imran who had really thought about Rakib. After ending a rich domestic career, he has been in coaching for a long time. In the Youth Cricket League last April he was in charge of the southern region, and that is where he first saw Rakib.

Tushar liked Rakib for his ability to bowl consistently in one area. He liked him so much that he effectively fought to include Rakib, who had not yet played recognised cricket, in the Khulna squad for the National Cricket League.

Khulna's head coach himself said: 'I had to work very hard to convince everyone. In the meeting with the selectors, I had to speak for 45 minutes about Rakib alone. They did not want to give him. They said let him play somewhere first, then keep him. I said no, if we keep him, we keep him now.'

Even though he managed to keep Rakib with the squad, Tushar Imran had not planned to play him in a match so quickly. He wanted to settle him with the team this season and give him a chance next season. But fate had written another story for Rakib.

Khulna had long been searching for a left-arm spinner, and Tushar had already seen that ability in Rakib. Given the chance, Rakib proved it by taking five wickets on debut. Bangladesh cricket has never had a shortage of left-arm spinners, and Rakib wants to move forward along their path. The start has not been bad; now it is about sustaining it.