By Ravi - Apr 24, 2025 03:16 PM
The Bangladesh cricket team has consistently made its mark in the longer format, especially at home, where it has gone from being a weak side to a formidable threat. While the batting has produced many star players, their bowlers, who often toil hard on difficult pitches around the world, have produced some of Bangladesh's most memorable Test victories.
Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan remains his country's most successful bowler in Test cricket with 246 wickets in 71 matches. His average of 31.72 is the best among all Bangladeshi bowlers to take more than 50 wickets. He has taken 19 five-wicket hauls, four more than second-placed Taijul Islam. Shakib made his Test debut against India in May 2007, at a time when Bangladesh were struggling to find a foothold in the game's most prestigious format.
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam has so far taken 219 wickets in just 52 matches (93 innings) in his Test career. Apart from being Bangladesh's second most successful bowler in Tests, Taijul also holds the record for the second most number of five-wicket hauls, taking 15 five-wicket hauls since his debut in 2014. He also holds the record for the best bowling figures for Bangladesh in Tests, taking astonishing figures of 8-39 against Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mehdi Hasan Miraz achieved the 200th wicket of his Test career by taking 10 wickets against Zimbabwe in Sylhet in April 2025. The cricketer, who made his debut in Chittagong in 2016 at the age of 19, has played 52 Tests so far and bowled in 91 innings. With his aggressive ten-fer, Miraz became only the third Bangladeshi cricketer in history to achieve the 200-wicket milestone.
One of the early pillars of Bangladesh's spin bowling, Mohammad Rafique became the first cricketer from his country to complete 100 Test wickets. Rafique retired from the format with 100 wickets in 63 innings of 33 Tests. The left-arm spinner was often tasked with bowling long spells during his playing days between 2000 and 2008. He also took seven five-wicket hauls in his career, including two against Pakistan and one each against Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Former Bangladesh captain and veteran fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza took 78 wickets in his 36-match career between 2001 and 2009. During this period, the fast bowler took four wickets four times against strong batting units like India, England and New Zealand. In 51 innings, Mortaza maintained a bowling average of 41.52 with a strike rate of 76.7.
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