Gazi Ashraf
Encyclopedia
Gazi Ashraf Hossain commonly known as Lipu, is a former Bangladeshi cricket
er who played and captained
the Bangladeshi cricket team
in its first 7 ODIs, two in the Asia Cup in 1986, three in the Asian Cup in 1988, and two in the Australia-Asia Cup to 1990.
at Sharjah
in 1990. He also has two ODI wickets in his bag. He dismissed Javed Miandad
at Moratuwa
and Roy Dias
at Kandy
in the Asia Cup in 1986.
that lost its Semi Final against Zimbabwe
and then also lost the Consolation Final against Papua New Guinea
in the 1982 ICC Trophy
in England. His best performance came in the opening match against West Africa. His 77 helped Bangladesh beat their opponents by 76 runs. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep up his good form, and at the end of the trophy he finished with 126 runs from 7 innings, with an average of 21.00. He was the captain in the 1986 ICC Trophy
also held in England, but the team failed to progress pass the group stage. Bangladesh defeated Kenya and Argentina, but lost against Zimbabwe (the eventual winners), Malaysia, East Africa and Denmark. Lipu's top score (41) came against Malaysia. He also took 6 wickets in the trophy at an average of 29.66. His best bolwing was 3/26 against Kenya.
Ashraf Lipu was captain again in the ICC Trophy
of 1990, in Netherlands
.Though Lipu himself was out of form, (he scored only 106 runs in 7 innings, his highest, 40 coming in the first match against Kenya), the team performed admirably under his leadership to reach the semi-Finals. Thus Lipu ended his international career on a high.
in Dhaka, in 1984. His highest 62 came against Bangladesh Tigers. He also scored 40 against Hong Kong
in the Final. It was during this tournament, that he cemented his place as the regular No 3 in the national side. In the tour to Kenya
that followed, he did well in the 3 day and 2 Day match, but missed out in the One-Day matches.
, Lipu enjoyed the longest stint. He captained Bangladesh
against Sri Lanka in March 1985, and remained as captain until the ICC Trophy
in the summer of 1990.
Before taking up the captaincy of the national side, Lipu had already proved himself as a successful leader in domestic cricket. He was successful as captain of Abahani KC in the Dhaka League, and as the captain of Dhaka University in national cricket. Also, in January 1985, he led the Bangladesh U-25 side against a touring New Zealand team.
According to many analysts, the era of Lipu's captaincy saw the most significant developments in Bangladesh cricket. While the national team failed to achieve expected results, the period saw a number of talented cricketers like Minhajul Abedin
, Athar Ali Khan
, Akram Khan
, Gholam Nousher
, Aminul Islam
and few others emerge as quality international players. These players would be the stars of the Bangladesh side throughout the 90's and beyond. More importantly, during the second half of the 80's, professionalism entered Bangladesh cricket and at the same time cricket became increasingly popular among the young generation.
Even after retiring from international cricket Gazi Ashraf Lipu continued to be a successful captain in domestic arena. He led Abahani KC to the Dhaka
league title in 1993-94. Interestingly, Faruk Ahmed
, who was the captain of the national squad at that time was playing under him in League cricket.
{| class="wikitable" width="70%"
! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan=9 | Bangladeshi ICC Trophy captains
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Number
! Name
! Year
! Played
! Won
! Tied
! Lost
! No result
! Where finished
|-
| rowspan=3 | 2
| rowspan=3| Gazi Ashraf
| 1986 || 6 || 2 || 0 || 4 || 0 || Sixth in qualifying group
|-
|| 1990 || 7 || 5 || 0 || 2 || 0 || Semi-Finalists
|-
|| Total || 13 || 7 || 0 || 6 || 0 ||
|}
|}
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played and captained
Bangladeshi national cricket captains
Bangladesh became a full member of the International Cricket Council on 26 June 2000, and played its first Test match, against India that November. Before then, it had been an associate member of the ICC since 1977, competing in six ICC Trophies, the leading one-day competition for non-Test nations...
the Bangladeshi cricket team
Bangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
in its first 7 ODIs, two in the Asia Cup in 1986, three in the Asian Cup in 1988, and two in the Australia-Asia Cup to 1990.
Lipu in ODI
Lipu's highest ODI score (18) came in his very final ODI against AustraliaAustralian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
at Sharjah
Sharjah (city)
Sharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.Sharjah is the seat of government of the emirate of Sharjah...
in 1990. He also has two ODI wickets in his bag. He dismissed Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
at Moratuwa
Moratuwa
Moratuwa is a city on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo main highway, 18 km south of the capital, Colombo. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides by water, except in the north of the city, by the Indian Ocean on the west...
and Roy Dias
Roy Dias
Roy Luke Dias is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played 20 Test matches as a specialist batsman, and became the first Sri Lankan to hit 1,000 Test runs...
at Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
in the Asia Cup in 1986.
Lipu in ICC Trophy cricket
He played in 20 ICC Trophy matches for Bangladesh in 1982, 1986, and 1990. He was a member of the team captained by Shafiq-ul-HaqShafiq-ul-Haq
Shafiq-ul-Haq was a Bangladeshi cricket player who played in the 1979 ICC Trophy and the 1982 ICC Trophy in England. In the latter tournament he captained the side and they finished fourth...
that lost its Semi Final against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
and then also lost the Consolation Final against Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinean cricket team
The Papua New Guinea national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Papua New Guinea in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1973, having made their international debut the previous year.They are the...
in the 1982 ICC Trophy
1982 ICC Trophy
The 1982 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 16 June and 10 July 1982. It was the second ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, with matches between the 16 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and with white clothing and red balls...
in England. His best performance came in the opening match against West Africa. His 77 helped Bangladesh beat their opponents by 76 runs. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep up his good form, and at the end of the trophy he finished with 126 runs from 7 innings, with an average of 21.00. He was the captain in the 1986 ICC Trophy
1986 ICC Trophy
The 1986 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 11 June and 7 July 1986. It was the third ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, and as with the previous two tournaments, games between the 16 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and with white clothing and...
also held in England, but the team failed to progress pass the group stage. Bangladesh defeated Kenya and Argentina, but lost against Zimbabwe (the eventual winners), Malaysia, East Africa and Denmark. Lipu's top score (41) came against Malaysia. He also took 6 wickets in the trophy at an average of 29.66. His best bolwing was 3/26 against Kenya.
Ashraf Lipu was captain again in the ICC Trophy
ICC Trophy
The ICC World Cup Qualifier is an international one-day cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. Any Associate or Affiliate member of the ICC may attempt to qualify for the ICC Trophy by means of a system of regional qualifying events. The test-playing Full...
of 1990, in Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.Though Lipu himself was out of form, (he scored only 106 runs in 7 innings, his highest, 40 coming in the first match against Kenya), the team performed admirably under his leadership to reach the semi-Finals. Thus Lipu ended his international career on a high.
| Batting | Bowling | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Matches | Runs | Average | High Score | 100 / 50 | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best |
| 1982 1982 ICC Trophy The 1982 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 16 June and 10 July 1982. It was the second ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, with matches between the 16 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and with white clothing and red balls... |
7 | 126 | 21.00 | 77 | 0/1 | 30 | 2 | 15.00 | 2/30 |
| 1986 1986 ICC Trophy The 1986 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 11 June and 7 July 1986. It was the third ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, and as with the previous two tournaments, games between the 16 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and with white clothing and... |
6 | 123 | 20.50 | 41 | 0/0 | 178 | 6 | 29.67 | 3/26 |
| 1990 1990 ICC Trophy The 1990 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in the Netherlands between 4 June and 23 June 1990. It was the fourth ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, and the first to be held outside England. It was also the first ICC Trophy competition to have a title sponsor, being known... |
7 | 106 | 15.14 | 40 | 0/0 | ||||
| Overall Overall An overall, coverall, over all, or dungarees, is a type of garment which is usually used as protective clothing when working... |
20 | 355 | 18.68 | 77 | 0/1 | 208 | 8 | 26.00 | 3/26 |
In Other Tournaments
Gazi Ashraf enjoyed outstanding success in the 1st South East Asian Cricket Cup1984 South-East Asia Cup
The First South-East Asian Cricket Tournament was held in Dhaka in January 1984. Two teams from the host country were joined by teams from Singapore and Hong Kong...
in Dhaka, in 1984. His highest 62 came against Bangladesh Tigers. He also scored 40 against Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in the Final. It was during this tournament, that he cemented his place as the regular No 3 in the national side. In the tour to Kenya
Bangladeshi cricket team in Kenya in 1983-84
The tour of the Bangladesh team to Kenya, during February, 1984, was the first visit of Bangladesh to any associate member country. The tour started a rivalry which became very intense in the 90's...
that followed, he did well in the 3 day and 2 Day match, but missed out in the One-Day matches.
Ashraf Lipu as a captain
Among all the captains of BangladeshBangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
, Lipu enjoyed the longest stint. He captained Bangladesh
Bangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
against Sri Lanka in March 1985, and remained as captain until the ICC Trophy
ICC Trophy
The ICC World Cup Qualifier is an international one-day cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. Any Associate or Affiliate member of the ICC may attempt to qualify for the ICC Trophy by means of a system of regional qualifying events. The test-playing Full...
in the summer of 1990.
Before taking up the captaincy of the national side, Lipu had already proved himself as a successful leader in domestic cricket. He was successful as captain of Abahani KC in the Dhaka League, and as the captain of Dhaka University in national cricket. Also, in January 1985, he led the Bangladesh U-25 side against a touring New Zealand team.
According to many analysts, the era of Lipu's captaincy saw the most significant developments in Bangladesh cricket. While the national team failed to achieve expected results, the period saw a number of talented cricketers like Minhajul Abedin
Minhajul Abedin
Minhajul Abedin is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 27 ODIs from 1986 to 1999. He captained Bangladesh twice during the Asia Cup of 1990–91. In local cricket arena he is more commonly known by his nickname, "Nannu".-Early days:Nannu caught the attention of the cricket selectors in the...
, Athar Ali Khan
Athar Ali Khan
Athar Ali Khan is a former Bangladeshi cricketer. A tall right-handed batsman , he played 19 one-day internationals scoring 532 runs at an average of 29.55 with a highest score of 82. Throughout the '80s Athar played as a middle order batsman, batting mostly at No. 4 or 5...
, Akram Khan
Akram Khan (cricketer)
Mohammad Akram Hussain Khan , known as Akram Khan, is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 8 Tests and 44 ODIs from 1988 to 2003. He captained Bangladesh in 15 of his ODIs. A hard hitting middle order batsman, Akram played first class cricket for Chittagong Division.Akram Khan was part of...
, Gholam Nousher
Gholam Nousher
Gholam Mohammad Nousher is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 9 ODIs from 1986 to 1990.He was Bangladesh's main strike bowler during the 2nd half of the 1980s.-The early years:...
, Aminul Islam
Aminul Islam
Aminul Islam Bulbul is a Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 13 Tests and 39 ODIs from 1988 to 2002.Aminul scored the first hundred for the Bangladesh cricket team when Bangladesh played their first Test against India...
and few others emerge as quality international players. These players would be the stars of the Bangladesh side throughout the 90's and beyond. More importantly, during the second half of the 80's, professionalism entered Bangladesh cricket and at the same time cricket became increasingly popular among the young generation.
Even after retiring from international cricket Gazi Ashraf Lipu continued to be a successful captain in domestic arena. He led Abahani KC to the Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
league title in 1993-94. Interestingly, Faruk Ahmed
Faruk Ahmed
Faruk Ahmed is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 7 ODIs from 1988 to 1999. A right hand middle order bat, he mostly batted at No. 3, but he could open the batting if necessary.-In ODIs:...
, who was the captain of the national squad at that time was playing under him in League cricket.
| Bangladeshi ODI captains | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Name | Year | Played | Won | Tied | Lost | No result |
| 1 | Gazi Ashraf | 1985/6-1989/90 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
{| class="wikitable" width="70%"
! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan=9 | Bangladeshi ICC Trophy captains
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Number
! Name
! Year
! Played
! Won
! Tied
! Lost
! No result
! Where finished
|-
| rowspan=3 | 2
| rowspan=3| Gazi Ashraf
| 1986 || 6 || 2 || 0 || 4 || 0 || Sixth in qualifying group
|-
|| 1990 || 7 || 5 || 0 || 2 || 0 || Semi-Finalists
|-
|| Total || 13 || 7 || 0 || 6 || 0 ||
|}
| Gazi Ashraf captaincy record in major competitions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Result |
| 1986 | 2nd Asia Cup 1986 Asia Cup The 1986 Asia Cup , was the second Asia Cup tournament, and was held in Sri Lanka between March 30 and April 6. Three teams took part in the tournament: Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.... |
Sri Lanka | 3rd among 3 Countries |
| 1986 | 3rd ICC Trophy 1986 ICC Trophy The 1986 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 11 June and 7 July 1986. It was the third ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, and as with the previous two tournaments, games between the 16 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and with white clothing and... |
England | Eliminated in the 1st Round (6th in a group of 7 teams) |
| 1988 | 2nd South East Asian Cup | Hong Kong | Champion |
| 1988 | 3rd Asia Cup 1988 Asia Cup The 1988 Asia Cup , was the third Asia Cup tournament, and was held in Bangladesh between October 26 and November 4, 1988. Four teams took part in the tournament: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.... |
Bangladesh | 4th among 4 countries |
| 1990 | 2nd Australasia Cup | Sharjah (UAE) | Eliminated in the 1st Round (3rd in a group of 3 teams) |
| 1990 | 4th ICC Trophy 1990 ICC Trophy The 1990 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in the Netherlands between 4 June and 23 June 1990. It was the fourth ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, and the first to be held outside England. It was also the first ICC Trophy competition to have a title sponsor, being known... |
Netherlands | 3rd Place |
|}
Lipu as a cricket administrator
In recent years, Lipu has successfully served different top level administrative positions in Bangladesh cricket. He is still heavily involved with the development of cricket in Bangladesh.External links
- http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/bangladesh/content/player/55896.html
- http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2006/05/02/sports.htm
- http://www.articlesbase.com/cricket-articles/the-middle-ages-2022784.html The Middle Ages by Rafiqul Ameer
- http://www.articlesbase.com/cricket-articles/bangladesh-cricket-the-low-points-3178733.html Bangladesh Cricket, The Low points. By Rafiqul Ameer
- http://www.articlesbase.com/cricket-articles/bangladeshs-first-ever-odi-3738022.html Bangladesh's first ever ODI. By Rafiqul Ameer