Bangladesh Cricket Players
Khaled Mashud
Khaled Mashud is a wicketkeeper batsman whose matchwinning six against Kenya in the final of the 1997 ICC Trophy did much to raise his country's profile. But he is also capable of digging in, as shown by his stand of 93 with Aminul Islam in the inaugural Test against India, and as Bangladesh's baptismal struggles continued, his doughty presence at No. 7 was often the saving grace of the innings. He is good keeper standing up, and though he drops the odd ball off the seamers, he was acclaimed by his coach, Dav Whatmore, as the best in Asia. He has been saddled with the captaincy, too, when Naimur Rahman was jettisoned after the home defeat by Zimbabwe in November 2001. But he was powerless to halt Bangladesh's woeful run of form, and quit after their humiliation at the 2003 World Cup, but remained a pivotal figure in the side. His finest hour, however, came in St Lucia in June 2004, when his unbeaten second-innings century secured Bangladesh a draw in their first-ever Test in the Caribbean. Since then he's struck a lean patch in Tests with just one fifty to show for series against New Zealand, India, Zimbabwe and England. He scored an unbbeaten 71 in the final ODI of the NatWest Series against Australia.