Rubel Hossain

When he looks back on his international career, Rubel Hossain could quote Charles Dickens in saying, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…"

Rubel will be remembered for two iconic moments in Bangladesh cricket. He took the last wicket when they beat England in Adelaide in the 2015 World Cup. Rubel also the took the last wicket to clinch their landmark 4-0 win against New Zealand in 2010. He has an ODI hat-trick, also against New Zealand, which gave him the joint-best bowling figures in an ODI for Bangladesh. But there are also very few bowlers who have such a contrast in their red and white-ball records.

Rubel averaged 76.77 in Tests, 34.31 in ODIs and 32.57 in T20Is. His strike rates have huge gaps too. The length of Rubel's Test career makes these numbers all the more baffling to fathom. He has played 27 Tests, bowling over 700 overs. Among specialist bowlers, only his fellow Bangladeshis Tapash Baisya and Shahadat Hossain and Pakistan's Mohammad Sami have an average of 50-plus having played more than 20 Tests. His only five-wicket haul (5 for 166 off 29 overs vs New Zealand in Hamilton) remains the most expensive by a Bangladesh bowler.

While his Test numbers are ordinary, Rubel was always better in ODIs. He was the second fast bowler from Bangladesh to take 100 wickets in the format. His 6 for 26 equaled Mashrafe Mortaza's record for the best figures by a Bangladeshi in ODIs, the spell including that hat-trick against New Zealand. He had taken a List-A hat-trick just the week before.

Rubel's four-wicket haul in Adelaide however was his most memorable spell. He removed Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan to revive Bangladesh, before taking the last two wickets to seal a place in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final and send England home.

Rubel's cricketing journey began with tape-ball cricket in his hometown, Bagerhat, in south-west Bangladesh, and his talents came to wider notice through a fast-bowler-hunt programme in which he topped the speed gun.
Mohammad Isam