Munim Shahriar's dream coming true after almost giving up cricket at one stage

"Alhamdulillah, I am glad. I've spoken to my family, my father is very happy," Munim Shahriar told The Business Standard (TBS) after being named in the squad for the upcoming two-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Munim impressed everyone with his aggressive style of batting at the top of the order in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He got his team Fortune Barishal quick starts almost every match, something that most of the Bangladeshi openers cannot do. It's now hard to imagine that such a cricketer, at one stage of his career, wanted to leave cricket.

His father, a service holder at an insurance company, inspired Munim to become a cricketer. A bright student during his boyhood days, the cricketer from Mymensingh came through the ranks and made his way into age-level cricket.

Munim was a stand-by player in Bangladesh's squad for the 2016 Under-19 World Cup on home soil. In a three-year Under-19 career, he played 15 youth ODIs for Bangladesh but couldn't do anything extraordinary. He played a youth Test in Sri Lanka as well.

His journey post the U-19 career was difficult. He got opportunities in the Premier League once in a while but lacked consistency. A disappointed Munim at one stage thought of quitting and changing his career path. But his father said, "Don't stop trying until you make a name for yourself."

He, at that time, got support from family and friends. His Under-19 teammate Najmul Hossain Shanto and former captain Khaled Mahmud Sujon inspired him as well. That helped Munim shrug off the disappointments and start anew.

"In the last Premier League [T20], Sujon bhai gave me the opportunity to play for Abahani," said Munim. And he made the most of it. The 23-year-old batter scored 355 runs in 14 matches with a healthy strike-rate of 143.14.

Still he wasn't picked in the players' draft of the BPL. Then Fortune Barishal picked him. But the right-handed batter tested positive for Covid-19 and missed the first few matches. Barishal made players like Dwayne Bravo, Jake Lintott open the innings but the gambles did not pay off.

Then Barishal got a settled opening pair in Munim and Chris Gayle. Munim, in particular, took on the bowlers almost every match. In the eighth edition of the BPL, Munim scored 178 runs in six innings at an average of nearly 30. His strike-rate was 152.13. His strike-rate of 148 in the powerplay is the highest among Bangladeshi batters who have scored at least 100 runs in the first six overs.

Barishal captain Shakib Al Hasan was impressed with his stroke play and aggression and termed him 'the find of the tournament'. Munim sensed that an opportunity in the national team was about to come.

The team for the Afghanistan T20Is was announced on 21 February. An elated Munim wrote on Facebook, "Can't forget the 21st February." Earlier, he told TBS, "A few people told me that I might get a chance. I too thought that a chance could come."

"From childhood, I had this very dream of playing for the country. I was depressed at one stage, thinking that my dream would not come true. I thank everyone who helped me and encouraged me. If I make the best XI, I will try to retain the spot. I don't want to sink into oblivion," he signed off.