Mushfiqur Rahim made a rather hyperbolic claim of Bangladesh supporters comparing him to the great Don Bradman when he succeeds, after he scored his eight Test hundred in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram.
Rahim entered record books on Wednesday, May 18, when he became the first ever Bangladesh batsman to get to 5,000 Test runs. The wicketkeeper batsman reached the milestone during his solid 105 in Bangladesh’s first innings effort of 465 all-out in response to Sri Lanka’s 397 in the ongoing first Test in Chattogram.
In an emotional speech at the end of fourth day’s play, Rahim spoke about the extremities of fan support for the cricketers in his country, making a claim that he is compared to the great Sir Don Bradman during his highs.
“Only in Bangladesh, I have seen that people compare me to Bradman when I score a century, but then when I don’t score runs, I feel like digging a hole for myself,”
“I am one of the senior players so we are not going to be around for long. But this is becoming a culture, so the younger players need the support. If I have to spend so much time tackling these things off the field, our on-field duties get affected.”
“(What is being said) is not desirable for a player. I think there’s no value for experience in Bangladesh. It is a huge deal to have played for 17 years. Allah has written what awaits me, and I want to perform that much well.”
Rahim said in the press conference following the fourth day’s play.
Overall, the 34-year-old is quite satisfied with his progress in the longest format.
“My goal (in my debut Test) was to play the second Test (laughs). I didn’t do well in my first Test,” he recalled. “Being a ‘keeper-batsman, I always gave priority to Tests. You are judged by how many big hundreds you get in the format.
I always wanted to play Tests for a long time so that I can make big achievements as an individual and a team. There’s no limit to success, but I am very happy with my achievement.”
The Test ended in a draw, after Sri Lanka responded with 260/6 in their second innings. The second Test will be played from May 23, in Dhaka.
