In the story of Bangladesh cricket, few names are as iconic or as complex as Mohammad Ashraful's. He was the country's first true match-winner, and had given a success-starved cricket nation moments that shine bright more than 20 years later.
But those moments will probably not gloss over the image of his sobbing face as he confessed to fixing matches, thereby betraying his supporters and the sport that made him what he was.
That led to an eight-year ban from all forms of cricket which effectively ended his international career. The irony is that in the years before his late-career misdeeds raised questions of a young cricket nation's sporting integrity, he was the figure who, arguably more than any other, gave it legitimacy.
On his 41st birthday, it is the perfect time to look back on the journey of the boy and the man who once not only carried the hopes of an entire cricketing nation, but defied the odds to become the first true poster boy of Bangladesh cricket.
Ashraful announced himself to the world in 2001 by becoming the youngest centurion in Test history. He was only 17 years and 61 days old when he struck a stunning century on debut against a powerful Sri Lankan bowling attack, including Test cricket's eventual highest wicket-taker Mutttiah Muralidaran. That record still stands today and reflects the extraordinary promise he carried at such a young age.
Three years later, when Bangladesh had gone five years without a win in internationals, it was Ashraful who seized the moment to break the drought. His unbeaten fifty off just 32 balls against Zimbabwe in 2004 brought much-needed joy to the fans and gave the team a sense of belief.
In the same year, Bangladesh managed to draw a Test for the first time, against the West Indies.
Again, Ashraful played a vital role, striking a determined 81 to help the team avoid defeat and show that Bangladesh could compete at the very highest level.
Perhaps his most iconic moment came in 2005 in Cardiff. Who can forget that knock?
Bangladesh were involved in a tri-series in the UK, involving hosts England and the best team of the era in Australia. A string of poor results and a severe shortage of success on the international stage had by then made it common for neutrals to question Bangladesh's place at cricket's top table.
Needless to say, Bangladesh were not given much of a chance to put up a fight, let alone win, against the two cricketing giants.
But against the mighty Aussies, chasing 250, Ashraful produced a masterful century that led Bangladesh to a shocking yet unforgettable ODI win, taking on the likes of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie.
It remains Bangladesh's only win against Australia in the format, and his knock is widely regarded as one of the finest by a Bangladeshi batter. Three days later, he hit 94 off 52 balls in a lost cause against England, featuring much of the bowling attack that bested the Australians in perhaps the most hotly contested Ashes series later that summer.
In the 2007 World Cup, Ashraful again made headlines with an 87-run innings against South Africa, the number one ranked ODI team at the time. That performance helped Bangladesh to a famous win on the biggest stage in cricket.
Later that year, he captained the side in the inaugural T20 World Cup. In Bangladesh's first match of the tournament, he played a blistering knock of 61 from just 27 deliveries, guiding the team to victory and proving his impact in the shortest format as well.
Another of his most memorable Test innings came in Galle, where he scored 190 against Sri Lanka, falling just short of becoming Bangladesh's first Test double-centurion. Still, the innings helped secure Bangladesh's first-ever Test draw against Sri Lanka.
He did hit incredible highs, and can be credited with raising the bar for performance for the following generation, but his Bangladesh career was also symptomatic of of the country's cricket at the time. Ask cricket fans of a certain vintage, and they will wax lyrical about his talent but also tell you of the countless times Ashraful found ways to get out and give the game away. He was capable of remarkable highs, but an average of only 24 from 61 Tests and just over 22 from 177 ODIs points to mediocrity and an acceptance of it.
The legacy of the man who confessed to fixing BPL matches in 2012, and later reportedly confessed to fixing an SLPL match in Sri Lanka, is one that is hard to pin down. He was the boy who dared and delighted, the first superstar of a cricket-crazy but success-starved nation, and he became the man who ultimately disappointed with actions on the field and off it. Perhaps his story is of the travails of childhood fame, and the lack of structures to support him through it -- a story both relatable for his very human flaws and unrelatable due to his massive but unfulfilled talent.
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