Mainul Haque, commonly known as Mainu, was a Bangladeshi cricketer who played for the Bangladesh side in the famous cricket match against the MCC

Marylebone Cricket Club

Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...

 at 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...

 in 1976-77. In the following season, against Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 he acted as the Vice Captain of the side, helping Raquibul Hasan

Raquibul Hasan

Raqibul Hasan is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 2 ODIs in 1986. he is widely regarded as one of the best Bangladeshi batsman of his era.-Early years:...

. A right-handed middle-order batsman, he scored 39 at Faridpur

Faridpur District

Faridpur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur District has a population of over 1.7 million people and is situated on the banks of the Padma river . It is bordered by Madaripur, Narail, Rajbari, Magura, Shariatpur, Gopalgonj, Dhaka and Manikganj...

 and 43 at Chittagong

Chittagong

Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...

 against Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan cricket team

The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...

 . In February 1978, he shared a century partnership with Raquibul Hasan

Raquibul Hasan

Raqibul Hasan is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 2 ODIs in 1986. he is widely regarded as one of the best Bangladeshi batsman of his era.-Early years:...

 against the touring Decan Blues side from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

An early retirement

Mainul went abroad immediately after the 1978 season, thus abruptly ending his international career. The main reason behind his decision was that Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 cricket at the time was very much at the amateur stage. Even the top cricketers were poorly paid. All of them were involved in other professional activities. Apart from Mainu, a number of other national cricketers (Nazrul Kader

Nazrul Kader

Nazrul Kader, also known as Lintu, was a left arm spin bowler from Bangladesh. He was a member of the Bangladesh cricket team that played against the MCC in the historical match at Dhaka in 1976-77.-Bowling action:...

 Lintu, Nazim Shiraji, Asadduzzaman Misha, Nehal Hasnain, just to name a few) gave their careers greater importance over cricket.

Domestic cricket

He played most of his domestic cricket with the Mohammedan Sporting Club of 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...

.

Relatives

His younger brother Selim was a member of the Bangladesh cricket team that took part in the 1979 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 England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

See also

• Marylebone Cricket Club cricket team in Bangladesh in 1976-77
  Marylebone Cricket Club cricket team in Bangladesh in 1976-77
  The Marylebone Cricket Club tour of Bangladesh during the winter of 1976/77 marked the entrance of Bangladesh into international cricket. Though the tour was very short, it gave the Bangladeshi players their first taste of international cricket....
  
  
• Sri Lankan cricket team in Bangladesh in 1977-78
  Sri Lankan cricket team in Bangladesh in 1977-78
  The month-long tour, during January 1978, turned out to be a big disappointment for both the sides. The Lankan visitors were disappointed by the low quality of local opposition, while the local players found their opponents too difficult to handle. As a result the tour was full of badly one-sided...