Abu Jayed

Before Bangladesh's pace revolution of 2022 and beyond, there was Abu Jayed. As a tall workhorse. Jayed had to carry the pace attack almost single-handedly for three years in Tests.

Jayed's 30 wickets from 13 Tests came at an average of 37.3. The ten other pacers at the time, including Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, both more experienced and significantly more skilled than Jayed, collectively took 39 wickets at 60.9 average and a 102 strike-rate during the same period.

Despite starting off impressively in West Indies in 2018, Jayed never really got the long rope to establish his place in the team. Some believed that he was one dimensional - that only when there was seam movement or some swing in the air did he do well - which wasn't exactly true.

Jayed's bowling hero was James Anderson, and his action was slightly like the Englishman's. Jayed could have taken the traditional Sylheti route of settling in England, but he decided to give himself a few seasons of domestic cricket in Bangladesh. It paid off.

Jayed's domestic numbers also spoke volumes about his hardworking nature. He is among three fast bowlers to reach 300 first-class wickets for Bangladesh. He played for Sylhet Division, the perennial under-achievers but it was Jayed's wholehearted performance that encouraged coaches and captains to take fast bowling seriously in the region.

The emergence of Khaled Ahmed and Ebadat Hossain from Sylhet would also be Jayed's quiet contribution to Bangladesh cricket. When the selectors dropped him in 2021 in favour of pace-bowling options, Jayed, usually the quiet performer, made his displeasure known to all.