Mohammad Rafique

Quite possibly Mohammad Rafique is the best slow left arm bowler in international cricket today.

Quite possibly Mohammad Rafique is the best slow left arm bowler in international cricket today.

One of the few Bangladesh players listed in the PriceWaterhouseCooper Top 50, Rafique has become a household name in Bangladesh and a permanent fixture for the seniors.

One of the senior-most players in the Bangladesh team, he was more well known for his abilities in One-Day Internationals early on in his career.

He was, however, selected to play in Bangladesh's inaugural Test against India and accounted himself well. While the limelight was taken by Naimur Rahman's 6 wicket haul, Rafique showed his promise with three wickets and Bangladesh's most economical bowling analysis.

His career was almost derailed soon after when he was reported to the ICC for a suspect action. He was a bit tardy in taking remedial action and was out of the national team until 2002 when he was picked for the home series against South Africa.

He showed his return to class and an aptitude for the long form of the game with a six-wicket haul in the second Test against South Africa. He has not looked back since.

He was the highest wicket taker for Bangladesh in the home Test series against England and the second highest during the away tour to Zimbabwe.

He can be quite handy with the bat too and is known as a hard-hitting lower order batsman.