Onwards and upwards

Bangladesh have recently broken their Test duck. What are the expectations now?
We have to be realistic and concentrate on improving our own game and not worry about what the rest of the world is saying. I don't think our infrastructure was compatible with the demands of Test cricket for a while. Now things look more organised, and it has picked up since 2003. There's no point in looking back. If we have lost ground in the beginning, we have to move fast and bridge the gap. We have some amazing talents like Mohammad Ashraful, Enamul Haque junior, Aftab Ahmed, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nafees Iqbal ... and that inspires me to look ahead. Personally I would like to win more frequently in the future.

What has changed in the dressing-room in the last five years? Have there been times when you've thought of giving up?
I think those of us who have played for Bangladesh since we gained Test status deserve a lot of credit for carrying the team through its most trying phase. Maybe people will say by looking at our results ten years from now that we were no good, but I believe that if Bangladesh get a settled position in world cricket in the future, it will be because of our determination and desire. Sure I have felt deeply frustrated at times but I never gave up hope. Those who I have played with have also shown the tenacity to hang in there when things have not gone our way. It is not in the Bangladeshi character to give up. Now, things are slowly changing for the better. The dressing-room is more vibrant these days.

How do you react to calls for Bangladesh's Test status to be scrapped?
Let me put it this way. When I started off, we used to watch in awe when Mohammad Azharuddin or Sachin Tendulkar passed by. Even the food they were taking was a topic of interest. But after playing against these guys year after year after year, you realise they are only human. They are still great players but you have a chance against them. Our cricket has transformed after the tour of Australia [in 2003], and once you have tackled the likes of Lee, McGrath or Harmison, you are ready to take on anybody. If we don't play against stronger teams, we will never be able to lift our standards. Take it from me.

How did you come out of the lows of the 2003 World Cup which signalled the end of your captaincy?
I did not lose the captaincy. As a matter of fact I had announced my intentions of stepping down after the World Cup at a press conference before we left for South Africa. It was a decision I took after a lot of thinking. The situation on and off the field was not half as organised as it is now. There were no separate bodies and hardly any responsible individuals on the Bangladesh Cricket Board to address the team's disciplinary aspects, training and overall well-being. The coaching staff was inept to say the least. Often we did not know where the next practice was going to be held, and would you believe it, we played just one warm-up game before leaving for the World Cup. There was no planning, no systematic training. I was feeling increasingly isolated and wanted the burden of captaincy off me so that I could concentrate on my game. My declaration at the press conference took everyone by surprise as I had not given any prior hints. Some people were not happy.

How did the repercussions affect you?
We lost against Canada and Kenya, and all hell broke loose. I could sense that I'd be made the scapegoat. A probe committee found me responsible for the debacle and accused me of improper conduct. There were even allegations of match-fixing against me. Funnily enough, Colonel Noor of the ICC's anti-corruption unit was taken by surprise when he was asked about the matter. I scored most runs for Bangladesh despite not being a top-order batsman, and dropped just two catches in the tournament, but I was the only one paying the price for the team's failure. But I have no bitterness towards anybody. When I was offered the role of vice-captain for the New Zealand series, I went to Habibul [Bashar] and told him: "Look, we have all made mistakes at some point but those are things of the past. On the field I'll fight for Bangladesh till I drop dead and you can depend on me 100%."

How big is the England tour? Does the prospect of attracting counties excite you?
This should be the biggest and toughest tour for us. But if we can play consistent cricket against the top two sides in the world, the rewards could be so much greater at the end of the tour even if we do not win anything. As I had said earlier, when you have faced Australia, tackling other teams becomes much easier. In fact, we played some of our best cricket immediately after our tour of Australia in 2003. As for county cricket, show me a player who doesn't want to play in England? It has been a childhood dream and the possibility of evoking the interest of a county side is an added incentive for me to do well on this tour.