How Bangladesh built their greatest pace attack ever

Bangladesh have one of the best pace attacks in the world. Yes, you heard that right. This was not true until the end of 2021, but a lot has changed in these years.

Our story begins in South Africa, a country where Bangladesh never had a good record. When they arrived there in early 2022, they were on a run of 13 straight ODI defeats there, including to Canada and Kenya.

One of the biggest reasons was that Bangladesh did not have fast bowlers good enough to win games in South African conditions. Their pacers had taken only 37 wickets in the country at 53.67 – the worst for any team, including Associates like Namibia, Scotland, Bermuda, and Canada.

But that was in the past. This was 2022, after the miracle win at Mount Maunganui. The most famous Test win in Bangladesh’s history was a miracle pulled off by their fast bowlers. Ebadot Hossain’s spell from that Test is rightly the most celebrated one, but Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed also had three-fors.

So this time when they arrived in South Africa, they had pace. Taskin and Shoriful shared five wickets in a win in the first ODI. The hosts first levelled the series, then started off with 46-0 in the decider. But then Taskin, the senior man, stepped up again. He broke the middle order with 5-35 before Mustafizur Rahman brought all his experience from a plethora of T20 leagues to the fore. There was no wicket, but with only 23 conceded in seven overs, he ensured there were no easy runs at the other end. South Africa folded for a mere 154 and Bangladesh won a historic series.

Bangladesh had never won even an ODI before in South Africa, but now they had won a series in the country. Until then, no Bangladeshi pacer had taken more than eight wickets in South Africa across their entire careers, but now Taskin alone took eight in this series.

The Test win in New Zealand and the ODI triumph in South Africa were both brought about by pace, something Bangladesh cricket was never associated with. They were not one-offs either: they were the starting points of Bangladesh's new era of fast bowling.

Until the end of 2021, Bangladesh’s seamers had never taken 10 wickets in a Test match outside of home or at Zimbabwe. Since the start of 2022 however, they have done this six times. It was the year everything changed for Bangladesh.

As for fast bowlers in ODIs, no team has a better economy since that South Africa series, while only India and Pakistan have better bowling averages.

Bangladesh never had a pace-bowling legacy. Previous stars, like Niaz Ahmed were medium-fast, while others like Daulat Zaman and Jahangir Shah were brisk, not fast.

In the 2000s, Shahadat Hossain could bother the best in the world with raw pace. He repeatedly beat Ricky Ponting’s bat and hit him on the helmet, and later bounced out Rahul Dravid and shattered his cheekbone. But he was too erratic, too inconsistent to make his mark.

Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, Taskin all started quick, but their peaks never coincided. Bangladesh never had a group of bowlers who could be called a pace attack.

From 2022 however, they have had Taskin,Mustafizur, Shoriful, and Hasan Mahmud, as well as the fastest bowler in their history, Nahid Rana. For this change to happen, Bangladesh needed a catalyst.

The Golden Generation

There wasn’t just one spark that lit the flame of Bangladesh pace revival but rather several at the same time. From a far-sighted captain to a legendary coach, and from a prodigal talent to a reborn veteran, several different pieces of the puzzle came together to change the team's identity.

When Mominul Haque was captain of Chattogram Division and East Zone in domestic cricket, he would insist on picking three fast bowlers. On top of that, he would ask the curators to make fast, bouncy tracks.

This approach may seem obvious to some , but Bangladesh cricket used to be built differently. Attacks revolved around spin, while seamers used to be the support cast. Pitches catered to spinners and the pacers had to adapt.

But Mominul thought differently. He carried that pace-first mindset to the national side and was the captain when Bangladesh created history in Mount Maunganui. “Mominul deserves some credit for helping fast bowling’s rebirth in the team,” said Tamim Iqbal in 2025.

By then, the BCB’s investment in overseas cricketers as fast-bowling coaches had been bearing fruit. After Courtney Walsh, Charl Langeveldt, and Ottis Gibson, they now had the most significant name on the list, Allan Donald. Andre Adams and Shaun Tait would later follow as well.

Donald worked closely with the senior men, Taskin and Mustafizur, mentored the youngsters, Shoriful and Hasan Mahmud, and identified the next generation in Rejaur Rahman Raja, Musfik Hasan, and the biggest sensation, Nahid Rana.

The quickest bowler in Bangladesh history, Rana’s route to the top was different from that of peers like Shoriful, Hasan Mahmud, or Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who were fast-tracked from the world champion Under-19 batch of 2020. Rana however rose through first-class cricket.

Until he was 17, he had only played tennis-ball cricket. This is not uncommon in the Indian subcontinent. And since the tennis ball does not move like a cricket ball, fast bowlers often have to rely on pace.

After fulfilling his elder brother’s demand that he finish school, Rana left to pursue his dreams. He came under the tutelage of Alamgir Kabir, now fast bowling coach at the Rajshahi Cricket Academy.

Alamgir worked on Rana’s run-up, using swimming and climbing mango trees to help him put on muscle. At 19, he claimed 4-107 on first-class debut, and by 2022/23, he had 41 wickets at 18.26. Among seamers, only Sumon Khan and Musfik Hasan – both medium-pacers – had more wickets that season.

Donald spotted him in a fast-bowling camp in Chattogram, and liked what he saw. “Let’s chuck this kid in somewhere,” he told head coach Russell Dominigo. Years later, he compared his pace and rhythm with Steve Harmison’s.

In 2023/24, Bangladesh included Nahid in the Sylhet Test against Sri Lanka. Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis scored two hundreds each, but Nahid still claimed five wickets amidst that run-fest. He has not looked back since then.

In 32 international games, Rana has already taken five five-wicket hauls, second only to Mustafizur amongst Bangladeshi seamers. Rana became the final piece of Bangladesh’s pace puzzle.

Given these resources, Donald now began to work on a “pack mentality” among the fast bowlers. Mustafizur was already Bangladesh’s first star pacer, regularly featuring overseas leagues. But now came Taskin back from the wilderness.

Taskin once used to be the most promising fast bowler in the country, but by 2018 he had fallen out of contention. During the Covid lockdown of 2020, he was desperate to return. He spent hours at the gym, trained in sandpits, and within a year, he was back to lead the attack.

The pack now had two heads – Taskin and Mustafizur, fire and ice. Behind them, Rana completed the trinity. And in Tests, Shoriful and Hasan Mahmud would replace The Fizz.

Donald left the job after the 2023 World Cup, but the job did not leave him. The youngsters all remain active on his WhatsApp group, and he talks to them regularly.

By the time Bangladesh began their 2026 ODI series against Pakistan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was Bangladesh’s ODI captain, and he saw no reason to change Mominul’s pace mantra. At the press conference, he called Taskin, Mustafizur, and Rana his “best bowling options” who gave them “more chances to win matches”.

Bangladesh captains never spoke in these words about three fast bowlers for a home series. But Mehidy was proven correct as the trinity shared 19 wickets in three games to win the series.

When Australia arrived, Bangladesh did not hesitate to roll out green surfaces for the ODIs, as Mehidy backed the decision.

Bangladesh had won only one ODI against Australia until then, back in 2005. But now they went 2-0 up in the ODIs. Taskin, Mustafizur, and Rana shared 13 wickets in these games. With the series sealed, Shoriful got a game in the dead-rubber match, and took 6-48.

Their final destination is still some distance away, but Bangladesh have got most things right so far with their pace drive. Their efforts have been organic rather than only being about the foreign coaches. Tait, the most recent of them, made it clear how important the scouting and grassroot-level coaching have been in the country.

The best bit?

Taskin is 31 and Mustafizur 30, but they already have more than a decade of international experience. Rana, Sakib, Musfik and Shoriful are all 25 or under, with Hasan Mahmud and Rejaul a few years older.

It means that not only do Bangladesh have an amazing fast-bowling unit, but most importantly, their pace attack is also among the youngest in the world.

Sadly, an injury means Rana will miss the Tests in Australia, in conditions where he would have thrived. Bangladesh were demolished in the tour game, but their fast bowlers shared eight wickets in the only innings they bowled. Hasan Mahmud finished with 4-42 as they reduced Cricket Australia XI to 139-6. It remains to be seen if the attack can carry on this verve in what is cricket’s most intimidating away tour.

But even if this tour is not a success, all of the attack including the injured Rana have age on his side. This Bangladesh pace attack has not fully peaked yet, and perhaps the next phase of their journey will begin later this year in South Africa. After all, that was exactly where it had all begun.

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