Bangladesh's veteran wicket-keeper batter Mushfiqur Rahim slammed a century on the fourth day of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram and thus pipped fellow centurion Tamim Iqbal to the post to become the first Bangladeshi to complete 5000 runs in Test cricket. The centuries from the experienced duo helped the hosts post 465 runs on the board in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 397 runs and all but ensured the match would end in a draw.
Mushfiqur spoke to the media in a press conference after the end if the fourth day's play and said that people in Bangladesh often compare him with the legendary Australia batter Sir Donald Bradman when he scores runs, but are quick to criticise him when he is unable to score runs.
"Only in Bangladesh, I have seen that people compare me to Bradman when I score a century, but then when I don't score runs, I feel like digging a hole for myself. I am one of the senior players so we are not going to be around for long. But this is becoming a culture, so the younger players need the support. If I have to spend so much time tackling these things off the field, our on-field duties get affected," Mashfiqur said as reported by Cricbuzz.
The right-handed batter had recently endured a tough time with the bat as he was failing to get the big scores under his belt.
Mushfiqur has been one of Bangladesh's most prolific run-getters across formats for over a decade now and forms one part of the triumvirate - which includes Tamim and Shakib Al Hasan - of seasoned batters, who have helped Bangladesh cricket improve leaps and bounds with their performances on the cricket field.