Mosaddek Hossain, Bangladesh batsman, World Cup 2019 Player Full Profile: Multi-talented Hossain adds variety to squad

Mosaddek Hossain belongs to that group of Bangladeshi players who have come through the ranks of age-group cricket. A right-hand batsman and handy off-break bowler, Hossain is immensely talented and has a very matured cricketing brain. As a teenager, he made his first-class debut during the 2013-14 season, but bagged a pair against the Khulna Division. However, the next season he had a fruitful outing for his domestic team and struck a couple of double hundreds. Later, he got another 200-plus score and became the first Bangladeshi to score the three first-class double tons. [caption id=“attachment_6559811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Mosaddek Hossain. Reuters[/caption] Much like Shakib Al Hasan, Hossain too has the potential to be a genuine all-round option with both bat and ball. And primarily for his dual role, he has been picked in the World Cup-bound team. As a bowler, his 4-5 overs of off-spin in the middle can be crucial in Bangladesh’s scheme of things. His presence in the XI provides a lot of flexibility to their set-up. So, thanks to his ability of adding depth in the batting as well as in the bowling line-up, the think-tank might be tempted to play Hossain ahead of a specialist spinner. Meanwhile, Hossain, popularly known as Saikat, made his international debut in a T20I against Zimbabwe at Khulna. And later that year he made his ODI debut against Afghanistan and his all-round capabilities helped him to soon became an important member of the white-ball set-up of Bangladesh. Hossain’s Test debut came in the historic 100th Test of Bangladesh at the P Sara Oval against Sri Lanka as he scored 75 and 13. It was his resistance down the order in the first innings, which helped his team to get a healthy lead and eventually win the game. It was also Bangladesh’s first-ever Test triumph against Sri Lanka. In the 2017 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, Mosaddek played a crucial role with the ball against New Zealand. He took 3 for 13 with his off-spin and Bangladesh went to win that game. So, this time, if he is picked in the playing XI, the youngster is expected to play a similar sort of an all-round role. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, click here