Shahadat Hossain

Shahadat Hossain is one of Bangladesh's maiden title winners from the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in 2020. It raised his nascent cricket profile with a Test debut in late 2023, a match that Bangladesh won against New Zealand.

Shahadat is a right-handed batter who grew up in Chattogram (then known as Chittagong) where his father, till his death in 2010, worked in the famed medical college. A neighbour, Sudipta Das, helped Shahadat with cricket kits when his family struggled to make ends meet, paving the way for the youngster to go through the age-group ranks.

When the Under-19 World Cup got to its business end, Shahadat struck 74* and 40* in the quarterfinal and semifinal against South Africa and New Zealand respectively. He made only one in the final, but the rest of the team sealed a two-wicket win against India. Shahadat, with the rest of the team, had entered Bangladesh cricket's folklore, with their first World Cup title in any sport for the country.

Shahadat struck two centuries for Chittagong in the National Cricket League, and despite modest averages in the domestic first-class competitions, he remained in the selectors' radar due to his Under-19 performances. He impressed slightly on Test debut, although the jury is still out on his credentials.