When Raqibul Hasan walked in as the captain of a giant club of the country, Mohammedan Sporting Club, facing their archrivals in a blockbuster encounter, his side were struggling on 3/38 chasing a mammoth 367 runs in fifty overs.
Eventually, national discard Mohammedan Sporting Club skipper Raqibul’s courageous 138 balls 190 run knock featuring ten sixes and 17 fours was not enough for his team to beat the holders Abahani Limited yesterday and ended up losing by just 27 runs.
Yes it was the much awaited Abahani against Mohammedan high voltage clash in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) 2016-17 which had no short of drama yet again.
Despite hundreds from Liton Kumar Das and Nazmul Hossain Shanto for Abahani to set a huge total, it was the right hander Raqibul who smashed the highest individual score by a Bangladeshi batsman in List A competition.
The 29 year old who represented Bangladesh in nine Tests and 29 ODIs, played his last international game six years ago. Raqibul has been in terrific form in the domestic circuit also hold the record of scoring the only triple hundred in the first class competition for Bangladesh where he smashed 313 runs in 2007.
However the cricketer from Jamalpur is not thinking about his return to the national side and informed that he is enjoying the role as the captain for a big club like Mohammedan and rated the 190 run knock as his best in limited over competition.
“Obviously there are regrets for not winning the game but it feels good to score a big innings. Abahani batted well especially Liton and Shanto and managed to post a big total. We also tried to do the same but eventually went on to the losing side. But we also played some good cricket and yes I am disappointed of not winning the game.”
“Honestly I am not thinking about the national team at the moment and there’s a lot of competition in the national team. At the moment I am playing for Mohammedan and it is a big thing for me and I feel proud to play for a big club. I have been given the role of the captain and I am looking forward to perform well for my team. This is my best innings in limited over and the triple hundred was also my best in the longer version cricket,” said Raqibul to the media yesterday.
Meanwhile Raqibul was just ten runs away from his double hundred when Mohammedan required 29 runs from five balls where he did not bother about the milestone and went for the big shot and eventually dismissed on 190.
The right hander struck 17 fours and ten sixes informed that he has the skills to play in all the three formats of the game.
“Obviously it’s my natural game and I think I have the ability to play all the three formats of the game and if you look behind you will see a lot of innings. It’s not like that I am just a longer version player and personally believe that I have all the skills to play three formats as a useful cricketer in the side,” Raqibul said.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
