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Just a tribute

RABEED IMAM
It could not have happened to a better person any way you look at it.
The fact that Mohammad Rafique became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take 50 Test wickets is a tribute to all those who can dare to dream and can remain down to earth while that dream is being unfolded.
It was also a glorious riposte to every crisis the 34-year-old has been through in a 13-Test career mostly stemming from misunderstanding.
Indeed Rafique had paid the price a number of times for what has been often interpreted as brashness and arrogance although it might have been just an honest outpouring of emotion from a man who has been brought up in a lifestyle and social circumstances, which few other top cricketers past or present can properly relate to.
He could and should have played in all of Bangladesh's 31 Tests to date. Instead, he was forgotten after the inaugural game against India in 2000 and was being branded a one-day specialist.
He was thought of as a poor competitor to fellow left-armer Enamul Haque Moni in the Test race, a gross misconception about which he could do nothing about until given another go.
He was sacrificed for discipline in Zimbabwe and was sent back home. His explanations for whatever happened was never taken seriously because he was Rafique.
On the second day of the first Test against New Zealand, he was taken aback when journalists wanted to talk to him. "What have I done?" was his first reaction.
When he got that magnificent hundred batting at number nine against the West Indies in St. Lucia, the obvious interest of the media was to get his instant feeling.
"It just happened by fluke," was the stunning reply when translated into English from his unique Dhakaia accent.
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Or the famous lines on his supposed bowling strategy ahead of a Test. "I'll just bowl. Let them hit me if they can. I know nothing about pitches."
That's Rafique for you. Simple, unsophisticated, uncomplicated. Yet some people have questioned his commitment and fitness. Ludicrous!
How many players will you find who will never say no? Who will bowl over after over after over without ever complaining? Who will walk back to his run-up and run in with the same intensity every time while younger, more muscular teammates would appear as if they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders ? There's just one man in the Bangladesh side who comes to mind.
Thank you champion.