Shahriar Nafees facts for kids

Shahriar Nafees Ahmed (Bengali: শাহরিয়ার নাফীস আহমেদ) is a former cricket player from Bangladesh. He was born on May 1, 1985. Shahriar played in all three main types of cricket games: Tests, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). He even captained the Bangladesh T20I team for a while.

Shahriar started his international career in 2005. He first played an ODI match for Bangladesh against England. Later that same year, he played his first Test match. In February 2021, Shahriar Nafees announced that he was retiring from all forms of cricket.

Early Life and Education

Shahriar Nafees was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 1, 1985. He is the oldest of three sons. His father, Mohiuddin Ahmed, was an army officer.

Shahriar went to St Joseph Higher Secondary School and finished in 2001. He then studied at Notre Dame College until 2003. After that, he started his university studies at the University of Dhaka in 2003. While at the University of Dhaka, he met Ishita Tasmin. They later got married and have a son and a daughter.

Playing for Bangladesh

Shahriar Nafees first played for the Bangladesh national team in 2005. This was during Bangladesh's first-ever cricket tour to England.

First Big Scores

In April 2006, Shahriar scored his first century (100 runs or more) in a first-class match. This happened in a Test match against Australia. A few months later, in August 2006, he scored his first century in a One Day International (ODI) game. This was against Zimbabwe.

Shahriar once held the record for the highest score by a Bangladeshi player in the ICC Champions Trophy. This record was later broken by another player, Tamim Iqbal.

Becoming Vice-Captain

In October 2006, Shahriar was chosen as the vice-captain for the Champions Trophy tournament in India. This was to help him prepare to possibly lead the team in the future. He did very well in that tournament, scoring another ODI century against Zimbabwe. He scored his third ODI century against Zimbabwe again in November of that year. By the end of 2006, Shahriar Nafees had scored over 1,000 runs in ODIs in a single year. He was the first Bangladeshi player to achieve this milestone.

Returning to the National Team

In 2008, Shahriar joined a different cricket league called the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Because this league was not approved by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), he and other players were banned from playing for Bangladesh for 10 years. However, he left the ICL in September 2009. This meant he could play for Bangladesh again.

Shahriar returned to the Bangladesh team in January 2010 for a series against India. He played in one Test match. After that, it took him more than 18 months to play another Test match. He made a comeback in an ODI series against New Zealand in October 2010. He played well, helping Bangladesh win two matches.

Playing in the World Cup

Shahriar was part of Bangladesh's team for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He played in two matches during the tournament. After the World Cup, he continued to play well in ODIs against Australia in April 2011. He scored two half-centuries (50 runs or more), which helped him keep his spot in the team.

Later in August 2011, he played his first Test match since January 2010 against Zimbabwe. He scored a half-century in that game. In October, he scored 82 runs in a Test against the West Indies. He then scored 97 runs against Pakistan in a Test match. This was a very important partnership for Bangladesh, as it was a record for the fifth wicket.

Leading the T20I Team

Shahriar Nafees was the very first captain of Bangladesh's T20I team. He was also the youngest T20I captain for Bangladesh. He was 21 years and 211 days old when he led the team.

Playing for Local Teams

Besides playing for Bangladesh, Shahriar Nafees also played for many local teams.

Bangladesh Premier League

In 2012, the Bangladesh Cricket Board started a new Twenty20 tournament called the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Shahriar was chosen as an 'icon player' for the Barisal Burners team.

In the second BPL tournament in 2013, he joined the Khulna Royal Bengals team. He was made the captain of this team. Shahriar scored the first century by a Bangladeshi player in the history of the BPL.

Retirement and New Roles

On February 13, 2021, Shahriar Nafees announced his retirement from all types of cricket. Another player, Abdur Razzak, also retired on the same day. Soon after retiring, Shahriar was offered a job in the cricket operations department of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

After his cricket career, he also joined the faculty at University of Scholars.

International Centuries

Shahriar Nafees scored several centuries in international cricket matches. A century means scoring 100 runs or more in one game.

Test Centuries

Test centuries by Shahriar Nafees

No.	Runs	Against	Venue	H/A	Date	Result	Ref
1	138	Australia	Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah	Home	9 April 2006	Lost

One Day International Centuries

One Day International centuries by Shahriar Nafees

No.	Runs	Against	Venue	H/A/N	Date	Result	Ref
1	118 not out	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club, Harare	Away	6 August 2006	Won
2	123 not out	Zimbabwe	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur	Neutral	13 October 2006	Won
3	105 not out	Zimbabwe	Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, Khulna	Home	30 November 2006	Won
4	104 not out	Bermuda	Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's	Neutral	25 February 2007	Won

Awards and Recognition

Shahriar Nafees received several awards for his cricket performance:

• In 2006, he was nominated for the International Cricket Council Emerging Player of the Year award. This award is for promising new players.
• Also in 2006, he won the BCB Cricketer of the Year award.
• He was also named the BCB Best Batsman of the Year in 2006.
• He received the Grameenphone Prothom-Alo Sportsperson of the Year award in 2006.