Mominul Haque

Mominul Haque is a fixture of the Bangladesh Test team, with the left-handed batter becoming one of their most important players in the longest format of the game. He has become a specialist batter for the Tigers in the red ball format over the years.

Haque has been a consistent player for Bangladesh since his debut in 2013, and is a senior member of the team as they look to leave their mark on the Test circuit with big wins such as the 2-0 series victory in Pakistan. Mominul is a monster of a player in difficult home conditions, averaging 48 and one of the major reasons that Bangladesh is a difficult place to visit for the best teams in international cricket.

Youth and domestic upcoming

Mominul Haque began his first class career in Bangladesh with the Dhaka Division team in 2008-09, after joining the country’s national sports institute, BKSP. Mominul would be picked for the U-19 World Cup in 2010.

He would continue performing well and scoring runs in his first class career as a youngster, ultimately earning his maiden call-up to international cricket in 2012 in the ODI format against the West Indies, as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan.

He would go on to receive his Test call-up the following year, playing against Sri Lanka, and got off to a good start with a half-century and also averaging over 50 in his first series.

Test success

Mominul Haque currently sits as Bangladesh’s all-time leading centurion in the Test format, with 12 tonnes placing him at the very top of the list. He averages a very healthy 38.36 in Test cricket, batting in the prime position of number 4 for the Tigers.

Mominul has a host of records to call his own beyond the centuries for Bangladesh. At the beginning of his career, he scored half-centuries in 13 of his first 14 Tests, including a run of 11 consecutive Test matches with half-centuries.

This placed him just shy of AB de Villiers and Joe Root’s record of 12 consecutive Test matches with 50s, and on par with Test legends such as Sir Vivian Richards and Jacques Kallis.

Test captaincy

Mominul Haque’s consistency with bat saw him rewarded with Test captaincy in 2019, taking over from Shakib Al Hasan in the red ball format.

Mominul’s spell as captain did see what was arguably Bangladesh's greatest Test victory, as they snatched a victory against the Kiwis in New Zealand early in 2022. Mominul top-scored for the Bangladesh team in Mount Maunganui on that occasion, scoring a very patient 88 as the Tigers took a big lead in the first innings, before chasing down the target. This remains Bangladesh’s sole Test win in SENA nations in their history.

However, the burden of captaincy didn’t sit well with Mominul, whose batting took a massive hit during this spell. His average rapidly dropped, and led to Mominul Haque himself requesting to step down from the role due to the added pressure and a lean spell in Tests for the team.

Mominul Haque is now a pure batter for the Tigers, and one of the senior members of the squad. His and the team’s next assignment under new captain Najmul Hossain Shanto will be to take on India in their two-match tour of their neighbours in September-October.