Mohammad Rubel Hossain is a Bangladeshi bowler who was born in the city of Khulna on January 1, 1990. He is widely considered as Bangladesh cricket’s best bowler. Because of his slight sling operation, Hossain is dubbed “Bangladesh’s Malinga.”
He bats with his right hand and bowls with his right shoulder. Hossain’s growth in international cricket has been remarkable for someone who started playing cricket with a taped tennis bowl in his hometown of Bagerhat.
Background
In tennis ball cricket, Rubel was known in his neighbourhood for his fast balls aimed at the batsman. In a pace chase programme, he topped the speed tables, impressing everybody with his consistent pace and bounce.
In 2007, he made his first-class debut for Chittagong District, taking a single wicket in the first match against Khulna Division. He was picked in the Under-19 squad and represented the country at the 2004 ICC Under-19 World Cup after successfully performing in the National Cricket League.
In the tournament, he took six wickets in five matches at a strike rate of 21.66. After that, he was named to Bangladesh’s A squad. His ability to reliably bowl with pace is credited with propelling him to the international stage.
Debut
In January 2009, Rubel made his international debut for Bangladesh in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in Dhaka. The debutant shocked the Sri Lankan batsmen by tearing through their middle order and taking four wickets in 5.3 overs while allowing just 33 runs.
Bangladesh secured a critical match by five wickets after Sri Lanka were all out for 147. In July 2011, he made his test debut against the West Indies at Kingstown, where he took three wickets.
Rise to Glory
Many hailed Rubel’s steady pace, believing that Bangladesh finally had a fast bowler capable of making batsmen duck under the bouncers. He wanted to find continuity in his performances after an outstanding debut in all formats.
In a test match against New Zealand in Hamilton in February 2010, he struck his first fifer. In October 2010, he took a four-wicket haul against the same opponent in Dhaka.
He rose to fame after bowling a hat-trick against New Zealand at Mirpur, being just the third Bangladeshi bowler to do so in one-day internationals. In 5.5 overs, he finished with figures of 6/26.
Records
Rubel has appeared in 25 test matches and has 33 wickets to his name. In 82 One-Day Internationals, he has 102 wickets at 34.22. He has 15 wickets from 16 T20Is.