Cricket: Shakib Al Hasan on the verge of unique milestone
Bangladesh ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan is just two wickets away from becoming the only man in world cricket to be his country's most successful bowler in all three forms of the game.
Shakib heads into Bangladesh's historic three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, starting on Sunday, with 206 career wickets to his name, trailing fellow left-armer Abdur Razzak on 207, reports cricket.com.au
Already Bangladesh's most prolific wicket-taker in Tests (147 wickets) and T20 internationals (65 wickets), it seems a foregone conclusion the allrounder will surpass Razzak in the coming week.
But his status as Bangladesh's leading ODI bowler could be under threat by his own skipper, paceman Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who heads into the series against Afghanistan on 203 career wickets, just three behind Shakib.
The late introduction of T20 cricket into international cricket accounts for the fact that, currently, no bowler leads the way for his country in all three formats.
However, seven of the nine other Test-playing nations has one bowler on top of the pile in Test and ODI cricket; England's Jimmy Anderson, India's Anil Kumble, Pakistan's Wasim Akram, South Africa's Shaun Pollock, Sri Lanka's Muthiah Muralidaran and Zimbabwe's Heath Streak are their country's most prolific bowlers in Test and ODIs.
Australia (Shane Warne in Tests, Glenn McGrath in ODIs, Shane Watson in T20s) and New Zealand (Sir Richard Hadlee in Tests, Daniel Vettori in ODIs, Nathan McCullum in T20s) have different bowlers topping their respective lists across all forms.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh named uncapped batsman Mosaddek Hossain and recalled bowler Shafiul Islam for the series against Afghanistan, the first ever bilateral contest between the two nations.
The three matches between Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be played on September 25, 28 and October 1.
The selectors also dropped paceman Al-Amin Hossain in a revamped 13-man squad for the first two of three matches at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
"We thought Shafiul would be a better option as he bowled fantastically well in recent training sessions," chief selector Minhajul Abedin told a press conference in Dhaka.
"Our management also preferred Shafiul ahead of Al-Amin, who is lagging behind in terms of fitness and fielding."
Paceman Rubel Hossain was also recalled to the side after an injury-plagued season, as was left-arm spinner Taijul Islam having last played an ODI against New Zealand in the World Cup last year.
Paceman Taskin Ahmed will join the squad provided he gets clearance from the ICC over his bowling action having been banned from bowling following the ICC World Twenty20 in India earlier this year.
He underwent a reassessment of his action in Australia on September 8 and is now awaiting the result.
Bangladesh ODI Squad
Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mosaddek Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Taijul Islam, Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain.
Most wickets for each country
Bangladesh
Tests - Shakib Al Hasan (147)
ODIs - Abdur Razzaq (207)
T20s - Shakib Al Hasan (65)
Australia
Tests - Shane Warne (708)
ODIs - Glenn McGrath (381)
T20s - Shane Watson (48)
England
Tests - Jimmy Anderson (463)
ODIs - Jimmy Anderson (269)
T20s - Stuart Broad (65)
India
Tests - Anil Kumble (619)
ODIs - Anil Kumble (337)
T20s - Ravichandran Ashwin (52)
New Zealand
Tests - Richard Hadlee (431)
ODIs - Daniel Vettori (305)
T20s - Nathan McCullum (58)
Pakistan
Tests - Wasim Akram (414)
ODIs - Wasim Akram (502)
T20s - Shahid Afridi (97)
South Africa
Tests - Shaun Pollock (421)
ODIs - Shaun Pollock (393)
T20s - Dale Steyn (58)
Sri Lanka
Tests - Muthiah Muralidaran (800)
ODIs - Muthiah Muralidaran (534)
T20s - Lasith Malinga (78)
West Indies
Tests - Courtney Walsh (519)
ODIs - Courtney Walsh (227)
T20s - Dwayne Bravo (51)
Zimbabwe
Tests - Heath Streak (216)
ODIs - Heath Streak (239)
T20s - Graeme Cremer (33)