For any captain in the history of cricket, the inaugural Test match is always the most special. But for Naimur Rahman Durjoy, the Tigers’ maiden Test captain, the India five-dayer in 2000 was doubly special.
In pursuit of Bangladesh’s commendable first-innings tally of 400, the Indians were in all sorts of trouble at one stage as right-arm off-spinner Naimur weaved his magic on the opposition. India eventually managed 429 in their first essay but not before Naimur recorded a magical six-wicket haul, making the occasion an unforgettable one for the Manikganj cricketer.
In the third part of Dhaka Tribune’s exclusive series of interviews, Naimur went down memory lane and recollected some memorable experiences from the inaugural Test match. And according to Naimur, it does not get any more special than the toss experience.
Captaining the country in the inaugural Test match. What was going through your mind just before heading for the toss?
I never thought that I would be the Bangladesh captain in the inaugural Test. However, right after the 1999 [ICC] World Cup, I started harbouring hopes of leading the Bangladesh team. And yes, being a part of the Test as a captain, I would definitely say the toss was the most memorable moment for me.
Share some interesting memories from the inaugural Test match.
Actually everything seemed new to us, and quite emotional as well. Everything was unknown to us back then so it is quite difficult to talk about any specific moment from that match. And those who did play the inaugural Test, it will be difficult for us to chalk out any special moment as everything was just so very different and memorable for us. So you can say every moment was special to us. We never thought that we would eventually get to play Test cricket for Bangladesh but after winning the ICC Trophy, we started dreaming of it.
According to you, what was the most special thing that happened during the match?
Everything was special. The fact that the Prime Minister was present and inaugurated the game was really special. Even the Sports Minister reached the ground before us and welcomed us. I think every memory of that Test was special, not only for us but also for the whole nation.
What do you think about the current Bangladesh team’s performance in the Test arena?
As a nation, we are yet to grow the culture of a Test team in terms of results. In ODIs though, we have improved the most among all the teams. However, there is no significant improvement for us in the longer format of the game. We may have played well in some of the Test matches in the last 15 years but I think we should have improved the infrastructure a while ago.
You are now engaged with the Bangladesh Cricket Board as a director and also as the chairman of the cricket operations committee. How do you plan on improving the sport in the country?
We always give recommendations as we want to improve in certain areas. For instance, we are trying to organise more Test matches against Zimbabwe. And as far as the Future Tours Programme is concerned, we always look to play more Tests. Obviously the board is working on it along with a few other things.
Read Next: ‘It was not even in my dream to be a Test cricketer’