Ashraf Lipu As A Captain
Among all the captains of Bangladesh, Lipu enjoyed the longest stint. He captained Bangladesh against Sri Lanka in March 1985, and remained as captain until the ICC Trophyin the summer of 1990.
Before taking up the captaincy of the national side, Lipu had already proved himself as a successful leader in domestic cricket. He was successful as captain of Abahani KC in the Dhaka League, and as the captain of Dhaka University in national cricket. Also, in January 1985, he led the Bangladesh U-25 side against a touring New Zealand team. According to many analysts, the era of Lipu's captaincy saw the most significant developments in Bangladesh cricket. While the national team failed to achieve expected results, the period saw a number of talented cricketers like Minhajul Abedin, Athar Ali Khan, Akram Khan, Gholam Nousher, Aminul Islam and few others emerge as quality international players. These players would be the stars of the Bangladesh side throughout the 90's and beyond. More importantly, during the second half of the 80's, professionalism entered Bangladesh cricket and at the same time cricket became increasingly popular among the young generation.
Even after retiring from international cricket Gazi Ashraf Lipu continued to be a successful captain in domestic arena. He led Abahani KC to the Dhaka league title in 1993-94. Interestingly, Faruk Ahmed, who was the captain of the national squad at that time was playing under him in League cricket.
| Bangladeshi ODI captains | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Name | Year | Played | Won | Tied | Lost | No result |
| 1 | Gazi Ashraf | 1985/6-1989/90 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Bangladeshi ICC Trophy captains | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Name | Year | Played | Won | Tied | Lost | No result | Where finished |
| 2 | Gazi Ashraf | 1986 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Sixth in qualifying group |
| 1990 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Semi-Finalists | ||
| Total | 13 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Gazi Ashraf captaincy record in major competitions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Result |
| 1986 | 2nd Asia Cup | Sri Lanka | 3rd among 3 Countries |
| 1986 | 3rd ICC Trophy | England | Eliminated in the 1st round (6th in a group of 7 teams) |
| 1988 | 2nd South East Asian Cup | Hong Kong | Champion |
| 1988 | 3rd Asia Cup | Bangladesh | 4th among 4 countries |
| 1990 | 2nd Australasia Cup | Sharjah (UAE) | Eliminated in the 1st round (3rd in a group of 3 teams) |
| 1990 | 4th ICC Trophy | Netherlands | 3rd Place |
| Preceded by Raquibul Hasan |
Bangladeshi cricket Captains 1985–1990 |
Succeeded by Minhajul Abedin |
| Preceded by Shafiq-ul-Haq |
Bangladeshi ICC Trophy Captains 1986, 1990 |
Succeeded by Faruk Ahmed |
Read more about this topic: Gazi Ashraf
Famous quotes containing the word captain:
“The curse of hell upon the sleek upstart
That got the Captain finally on his back
And took the red red vitals of his heart
And made the kites to whet their beaks clack clack.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)