Ashraful Timeline

A 17-year-old Mohammad Ashraful raises his bat after scoring a century on debut against Sri Lanka in 2001. PHOTO: AFP FILE

September 8, 2001: In the second innings of his debut Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo Ashraful hit a 114 in Bangladesh's innings of 328 all out, thus becoming the youngest, at 17 years 63 days, Test centurion in the game's history. He also top-scored in Bangladesh's first innings, hitting 26 out of a paltry total of 90.
June 18, 2005: Bangladesh's greatest victory till date, a five-wicket humiliation of Australia in Cardiff, was engineered by Ashraful's first ODI century -- a 101-ball 100. It was a full-strength Australia side, and chasing 250, Ashraful brushed aside the threat posed by the likes of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Mark Kasprowicz to take Bangladesh within touching distance when he fell with the team 23 short of the target.
June 21, 2005: Perhaps the only time in his career that could have been described as a purple patch, Ashraful played an even more astonishing innings against England in the match immediately after his demolition of Australia. At Trent Bridge, chasing an impossible 392, he hit a 52-ball 94 that provided brief hope in a bleak situation. The attack which he flayed to all parts would, later in the summer, wrest back the Ashes from Australia.
April 7, 2007: Ashraful enhanced his reputation as a single-handed giant-slayer by inspiring Bangladesh to victory in the Super Eights match against South Africa in Guyana. This time, Ashraful's contribution was an 83-ball 87 after coming in at 69 for three. The innings was marked by innovative scoop shots over fine-leg late in the innings, which briefly caused the shot to be named 'The Ashraful'.
June 2, 2007: Ashraful is named captain of Bangladesh for the tour of Sri Lanka and the World Twenty20.
September 13, 2007: Ashraful engineers his only victory as captain, in Bangladesh's first match of the inaugural World Twenty20 against West Indies. He became the fastest T20 half-centurion at the time, reaching the mark off only 20. His 27-ball 61, along with Aftab Ahmed's 62 helped Bangladesh chase West Indies' 164.
June 23, 2009: Ashraful loses captaincy to Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.
December 19, 2008: Hits a seminal, unbeaten 158 against India in the second Test at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong. Chasing a mammoth 540, he came in at the start of the third day with Bangladesh teetering at 54 for three. Over the next 194 balls and four and a half hours he dominated the Indian bowlers but could not avert the follow on as Bangladesh went on to lose the match by an innings and 83 runs.
March 9, 2013: Ashraful plays his best Test innings, and in all likelihood the last of his six Test centuries when he scored a chanceless 190 against Sri Lanka in the first Test at the Galle International Stadium. He was included in the tour as a last-minute injury replacement and was set to become Bangladesh's first Test double-centurion, an honour that later fell to skipper Mushfiqur Rahim in the same match. Ashraful's innings raised hopes of a long-awaited maturing for the mercurial batsman.
June 4, 2013: A tearful Mohammad Ashraful publicly asked forgiveness from cricket lovers of the country for his wrongdoings. A few days ago, he had admitted to the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit that he was involved in corrupt practices during the Bangladesh Premier League T20, a fact that became public knowledge after the admission was carried in the local media.