On this day, January 7, 1977, under the captaincy of the late Shamim Kabir, the Bangladesh cricket team played a three-day match against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Dhaka Stadium. This was the first time cricketers from the country played under the name “Bangladesh.”
The three-day match was referred to as an “unofficial Test match” in newspapers of that time. The Dhaka Stadium, with a capacity of 40,000 spectators, was completely packed to witness the match. Before this game, MCC played two more matches during the tour, but those were against teams representing different regions. The match held at Dhaka Stadium (now Bangabandhu Stadium) was the first where the team played under the name “Bangladesh.”
Cricket is now played in three formats: Test, ODI, and T20. Although Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, Naimur Rahman Durjoy, and Shahriar Nafees were the first captains in ODIs, Tests, and T20s respectively, Shamim Kabir is recognized as the first official captain of Bangladesh cricket. The team that played against MCC in Dhaka in January 1977 is considered the first official Bangladesh cricket team, and Shamim Kabir, who led the team, is regarded as its inaugural captain. He passed away in 2019.
In that match against MCC, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring 266 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Yusuf Rahman Babu played a crucial knock of 78 runs, while Faruk (35), Shamim Kabir (30), and Rumi (28) also contributed with the bat. MCC responded with a total of 347 runs. In the second innings, Bangladesh scored 152 runs for 6 wickets before the match ended in a draw due to time constraints.
Players of Bangladesh in the First Match
Shamim Kabir (Captain)
Raqibul Hasan (Vice-Captain)
Shafiqul Haque Hira
Mainul Haque
Omar Khaled
ASM Faruq
Syed Ashraful Haque
Yusuf Rahman Babu
Daulatuzzaman
Dipu Roy Chowdhury
Khandakar Nazrul Kader Lintu
