Four Years in the Wilderness, 70 Balls to Rewrite History

The last time Mosaddek Hossain Saikat played an ODI for Bangladesh, it was August 2022, against Zimbabwe, at home. He was 26. The world forgot about him — or rather, the selectors did. Four years passed. Four years of watching from outside the squad, grinding away in domestic cricket while younger names took the spotlight.

On Monday in Mirpur, the 30-year-old walked out at the Shere Bangla National Stadium against Australia in Bangladesh's first bilateral ODI series against them in 15 years — the last one was a 3-0 whitewash in April 2011 — and delivered perhaps the most complete all-round performance by a Bangladeshi cricketer this year: an unbeaten 86 off 70 balls with the bat, then 2/33 off 9.1 overs with his off-spin, as Bangladesh dismantled Australia's chase and stood on the brink of only their second ODI victory over Australia. Ever.

Mosaddek's recall wasn't charity — it was arithmetic. In the 2026 Dhaka Premier League, he plundered 336 runs in seven innings at an average of 67.20 and a strike rate of 133.33, with a century and two fifties. He also picked up 12 wickets at an economy of 4.12 with his off-spin. Those aren't comeback numbers. Those are "you can't ignore me anymore" numbers.

Chief selector Habibul Bashar, who knows a thing or two about batting under pressure against Australia — he shared that famous 130-run partnership with Mohammad Ashraful in Cardiff in 2005 — spelled it out plainly when announcing the squad.

Bangladesh were in trouble when Mosaddek walked in. The top order had contributed — Tanzid Hasan Tamim's swashbuckling 54 off 44 balls set the tone, and Najmul Hossain Shanto's steady 46 provided structure — but the middle overs were squeezing. Australia's bowlers, led by Nathan Ellis (who would finish with three wickets) and debutant Liam Scott (two wickets, including the prized scalp of captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz), were building pressure.

Mosaddek didn't just counter it. He obliterated it. Seven fours and three sixes — the shots of a man who had waited 1,460 days for another chance and wasn't about to waste it. His 86 not out was a career-best ODI score, surpassing everything he'd managed in 43 previous ODIs. Taskin Ahmed's quick 20 at the death pushed the total to a formidable 284/8.

Australia's fielding didn't help their cause either. They dropped four catches — Mosaddek was put down three times, the most egregious being Cooper Connolly spilling him on 21 and Adam Zampa shelling a straightforward chance at short third when he was on 73. In cricket, you make your own luck. Mosaddek made his by being dropped and punishing every reprieve.

Chasing 285 in Mirpur against a Bangladesh side that smelled blood was always going to be tough. Without Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood — all rested for workload management ahead of Australia's monster 20-Test schedule — stand-in captain Josh Inglis was left to marshal a second-string attack that had become a second-string batting order.

Nahid Rana set the tone. The 24-year-old pace phenom, who had taken 16 wickets at 17.43 in six recent ODIs against Pakistan and New Zealand, ripped through Australia's top and middle order. Inglis fell to Rana for 19 off 25 balls, triggering a heated verbal exchange that captain Mehidy had to defuse. It was a statement dismissal — Rana had been identified as the danger man before the series, and he confirmed it with pace and aggression.

Cameron Green offered lone resistance with a gutsy fifty, but around him wickets fell in clusters. At 191/9 in 42.2 overs, lightning and rain forced the players off the field — with Bangladesh holding a 99.39% win probability and needing just one more wicket to seal only their second ODI win against Australia in 22 completed matches spanning 21 years.

The only previous Bangladesh ODI win against Australia came on June 18, 2005, at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, during the NatWest Series. Mohammad Ashraful scored a magnificent century — just the second by a Bangladeshi in ODIs at the time — and Habibul Bashar, the same man who recalled Mosaddek for this series, added a vital partnership. Bangladesh won by five wickets. It remains one of the most celebrated results in Bangladeshi cricket history.

Twenty-one years later, the symmetry is poetic. The chief selector who batted alongside Ashraful in Cardiff picked the man who would produce a Cardiff-scale performance in Mirpur. Bashar backed form over reputation, domestic runs over name value. Mosaddek repaid every bit of it.

Mosaddek's 86 not out wasn't just about this match. It was a job application. The 2027 ODI World Cup in southern Africa is nine months away, and Bangladesh's middle-order spots are wide open. Before today, Mosaddek had 634 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 24.38 — perfectly serviceable, never spectacular. One innings doesn't rewrite a career, but a career-best 86* against Australia in a match of this magnitude? That rewrites the conversation.

International cricket is brutal to the forgotten men. For every Mosaddek who claws his way back, there are dozens who grind away in domestic leagues for years, put up the numbers, and never get the call. The difference between exile and redemption is often just one phone call from a chief selector who remembers what you can do.

Habibul Bashar made that call. Mosaddek answered it with the bat, the ball, and every ounce of frustration accumulated over four years of watching from the outside. Australia's depleted touring party were simply the unlucky recipients of a man who had something to prove and 70 balls to prove it.

Bangladesh have a second ODI on Wednesday and a third on Saturday. If Mosaddek keeps this up, the conversation won't be about whether he belongs in the squad. It'll be about where they were hiding him for four years.