Mohammad Mithun

Mohammad Mithun was a child prodigy who could not translate his talent into performance at international level despite a decent run in all three formats.

Born and brought up in Khulna, Mithun went to the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP), the country's most prominent sporting institute, where he excelled in the cricket team. He was also a wicketkeeper and a part-time offspinner and played in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, after which he developed himself as a domestic performer. He made his international debut in 2014, but it was in 2018, under the guidance of head coach Steve Rhodes, that he briefly looked to become an effective stroke-maker.

That glimmer of hope came during that year's 50-over Asia Cup when he struck fifties against Sri Lanka and Pakistan from No. 5, reviving Bangladesh from top-order collapses with his century stands with Mushfiqur Rahim. Much was expected of him during the 2019 ODI World Cup but he could only manage 47 runs in three matches. In all, he made only eight half-centuries in 61 innings across formats for Bangladesh, one of those coming on Test debut in Harare. His international career ended after he made just 51 runs in a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2021.

Mithun fared better in domestic cricket, where he won five National Cricket League titles, including a hat-trick of trophies from 2015-16 to 2017-18, with Khulna Division, and four more in the Bangladesh Cricket League. In the last of those seasons, he did the double with Khulna and South Zone. He also had three productive seasons in the BPL between 2016 and 2019, which helped him return to the national side but the stay did not last long.