“Sourav” Among the Greats

Bangladesh Little Master Mominul Haque Sourav has already elevated his rank among all-time greats. His staggering batting average of players playing 20 or more test innings is now only second below peerless Sir Donald Bradman. Though it is very early to compare with any of the greats so far after a career spanning only two years and him not playing against major oppositions in different conditions on different wickets .But his is no mean achievements.

Players	Runs	Highest Score	Average	Century	Fifties
SirDGBradmanAustralia	6996	334	99.96	29	13
MominulHaqueBangladesh	1198	181	63.05	4	7
RG Pollock , South Africa	2256	274	60.97	7	11
GA Headley ,West Indies	2190	270	60.83	10	5
H Sutcliffe England	4555	194	60.73	16	23
E Paynter , England	1540	243	59.23	4	7
KC Sangrakara, Sri Lanka	11988	319	58.78	37	51
KF Barrington ,England	6806	256	58.69	20	35

The above list does not include greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton, Wally Hammond, Everton Weeks Brain Lara, Sunil Gavaskar, Jack Kallis, Viv Richards, Ricky Ponting, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayewardene or Martin Crowe.

So there is no reason to be complacent about Mominul reaching the ranks of a great elite club. He has a long way to go yet to be compared with any of the above named or many not named. But what the little man has achieved definitely talks about a lot of his lazy elegance, cool composure and enviable temperament. He is on his way and if he can keep his head on his shoulder he has a definite future in world cricket.

Mominul hails from Cox’s Bazar the town with can boast of the longest stretch of sea beach along the Bay of Bengal. He was blooded in test cricket only in 2013 against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka to fill in the shoes of another great Sakib Ul Hasan who was unfit being injured. Since then Mominul has not looked back. He has already appeared in 12 tests played so far by Bangladesh against Sri Lanka at home and abroad, West Indies, New Zealand and now Zimbabwe. He has not played against Australia, South Africa,England, Pakistan and India. He has to prove his skills and temperament against likes of Mitchel Johnson and Dayle Steyn on pacey bouncy tracks and against spinners like Aswin, Jadeza, and Saeed Aajmal on sticky turning tracks. He has to adjust his technique and skills in every condition and every wicket before he is compared with the greats of all times. But nevertheless a beginning is made and our Mominul is well on the way.

What has caught our imagination and impressed us most is his unruffled temperament and solid techniques. He has all the strokes of book and does not hesitate to unleash with perfection. He looks a little bit unsure of quick stuff leaving him in his outside the off stump channel. This he can brush off as he goes alone on the purple path of glory. The most striking feature of this young prodigy is that he has ably digested his fame so far. Bangladesh lost the service of another great Mohammad Ashraful who promised to deliver so much with his natural ability. Even Sakib failed to conduct himself on few occasions. One only hopes that will not be the case with Mominul. He is from a humble background and very committed to his mother and family.

We are particularly impressed with cover driving, square cuts, pulls and late cuts. He also has impregnable defiance. There was a notion among few that he cannot handle pacey stuff. But in two tests at West Indies he has made his critics digest that notion. We now have to see how he adjusts to Chin Music that Johnson and Steyn make against batsmen so effectively. We are sure he will learn spending lot of time in nets and watching videos of other greats like Tendulkar, Lara and others.

My special request to media is not to make him monster yet .Let the boy on his own. Do not put excessive burden of fame on him. World Cricket has taken a note of him already and bowlers around the circuit will have their plans A, B and C worked out before they bowl against him. As human being we are sure law of Average will catch up with him sooner or later. It is to be seen how he conducts himself through that stage. We want Mominul to grace our cricket arena for a decade and a half at least. Let us salute our hero and let us leave him on his own to grow and mature.