Sports Reporter:
Former Bangladesh pacer Rubel Hossain was accorded a farewell by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today, less than a week after he announced his retirement from international cricket.
Rubel, who last represented the Bangladesh national cricket team in April 2021, called time on his inter-national career through a social media post after remaining out of the side for an extended period.
The BCB arranged the felicitation ahead of the second ODI between Bangladesh and the New Zealand in Mirpur, with several board officials present.
Speaking after the programme, Rubel expressed gratitude to those who supported him throughout his journey.
“At this stage of my career, I want to thank everyone, starting from my family to the grounds men and coaches. I am grateful to those who stood by me when I made my debut in 2009,” he said.
He also revealed that BCB president Tamim Iqbal had contacted him regarding the arrangement of a farewell programme.
“When I was about to retire, our board president Tamim Iqbal called me and said they wanted to arrange a farewell reception. I am thankful to the BCB for organizing this,” he added.
Rubel paid special tribute to his mentor Sarwar Imran, acknowledging his contribution to his career.
“I cannot forget the man who guided me from the pacer hunt to the national team and it’s none other than Sarwar Imran Sir. I wish him good health and all the best,” he said.
Rubel’s international career spanned more than a decade after his debut in 2009, during which he estab-lished himself as a key pace bowler for Bangladesh.
Across formats, he featured in 27 Tests, 104 ODIs and 28 T20Is for Bangladesh, taking a combined 193 international wickets. He took 36 Test wickets, 129 ODI wickets and 28 T20I wickets during his interna-tional career. His best bowling figures in ODIs were 6-26.
Despite retiring from international cricket, he indicated that he intends to continue playing domestic cricket.
