Mominul was both surprised and impressed by the arrangements made to celebrate Mushfiqur Rahim’s 100th Test. He said this is exactly the kind of cultural appreciation he wants to see in Bangladesh cricket.
Even when Mushfiq stood at the doorstep of a hundred during his milestone Test, Mominul sensed no nerves in him. The calmness in Mushfiq’s batting told him everything.
Seeing the entire setup around Mushfiq’s 100th Test initially left Mominul a bit stunned. For a moment, he even wondered whether it was some kind of retirement ceremony. He had never seen such festivities for someone’s 100th Test and admitted it felt unusual. But he believes this kind of respect for players is the culture that should be nurtured in Bangladesh cricket—one that inspires the younger generation.
For days, Bangladesh cricket carried a celebratory mood around Mushfiq’s milestone. Ahead of the Test, multiple events were arranged to honour him and his family with various mementos and gestures of respect.
At the end of day one against Ireland, Muminul said this is the culture he wants to see in local cricket.
“I’ve never seen such an environment before, to be honest. Not even during someone’s retirement. At one point it felt like a retirement ceremony! Later I realized no, this is what a 100th Test feels like. In other countries, this is how they honour their players… not so much in ours.”
“Seeing this in my own country felt great. If this culture continues in Bangladesh, the younger generation will be inspired to play Test cricket and dream of reaching 100 Tests.”
Mominul believes Mushfiq is the perfect cricketer to become Bangladesh’s first to reach this milestone. With Mushfiq unbeaten on 99 at stumps, he even wished to see a double century the next day.
“I don’t know if someone like him will be born again in Bangladesh. Whether he scores runs or not, his gym work, running, diet—everything stays the same. Many players get frustrated at times, but he never does. He keeps maintaining everything no matter what. This is the result. A hundred Tests, a hundred runs—he deserves it. And if he scores 200 tomorrow, he deserves that too.”
After Mushfiq, Mominul himself is currently the closest to reaching 100 Tests. This was his 75th. But he said he isn’t too focused on numbers. His only aim is to keep contributing to the team.
“About me, well… I don’t even know if I’ll be alive tomorrow. I’ll think about the next one when it comes, today is today.”
“My dream is simply to take Bangladesh cricket, especially Test cricket, as high as possible while I’m playing. Whether that’s 80 Tests or 120, I don’t know. Only Allah knows how long I’ll play. But as long as I do, I want to contribute. Nothing else matters.”
As Bangladesh waited to start the 89th over of their innings, Mushfiq, playing his 100th Test, stood at 93. Just seven runs away from another rare milestone. When Liton Das took a single to change strike, it felt like everyone inside the stadium focused on one man.
The officials in the President’s Box watched eagerly, the crowd grew restless, and even in the dressing room, players like Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were visibly tense. Everyone wondered: Would Mushfiq reach three figures today?
But as the fading evening light settled, the day ended with Mushfiq unbeaten on 99. He didn’t rush. Ireland slowed the over rate enough that Bangladesh didn’t get an extra over.
Now, one run stands between Mushfiq and history—yet that one run must wait overnight.
But Mominul sees no reason to worry. Speaking at the press conference alongside Mushfiq’s partner in the century stand, the batter who scored 63 said there was nothing to fear—simply because the man on 99 was Mushfiq.
“It felt like he’d get it today. They delayed, that’s why it didn’t happen. But I’m not worried at all. He has a habit of scoring hundreds and double hundreds. Even in the nineties, he never panics.”
“That’s why I’m confident. If it were someone else, maybe I’d be a bit ‘panicked’. But since it’s him, I know he’s not panicked and none of us are worried. Inshallah, it’ll happen tomorrow.”
There was suspense about whether another over could be bowled after 90 overs were done. The umpires eventually lifted the bails. As Mushfiq walked back, there was a subtle smile on his face—a mix of satisfaction and a hint of incompleteness.
Asked how Mushfiq would approach the next morning, Mominul responded with a smile.
“From his face, I never felt he was nervous. Maybe pictures would show differently, but I didn’t see anything. He’s the same as always. Nothing extra. I didn’t see anything that said ‘he’s playing his 100th Test’ or ‘he must score 100’. Nothing like that.”
“When he walked in at zero, he was calm. He tried to play normal cricket, read the situation, and batted with full control.”
Mominul admitted they desperately wanted one more over, and they sensed Ireland were deliberately slowing things down.
“Who wouldn’t want another over at that time! Both of us had milestones ahead. Of course we wanted it. They were definitely taking it slow. Very slow.”
