Number 15= Imrul Kayes
Highest Ranking 2
Total Points 10
Number of Votes Received 2/13
Imrul Kayes, the Bangladeshi opening batsman first ""burst"" onto the Test scene in 2008 with an incredible tour of South Africa.
However, before we get to that incredible tour, let us step back a little and analyse Kayes contribution to Bangladeshi cricket a little more. Born in Meherpur in 1987, by 2006, Kayes was playing first class cricket for Khulna Division. He played 10 first class games for them in 2007 and averaged a seemingly respectable 33.33 with the bat - 600 runs from 18 completed innings. However, this only put him in the 20s in the list of that season's batting averages, behind players like Ehsanul Haque and Nazimuddin who have never received the same number of opportunities as Kayes.
Worse was to follow as in advance of his Test debut touring South Africa he could only score 203 runs in 8 completed innings (25.38) in the next Bangladeshi first class season. On the back of such wonderful batting form, Kayes was drafted into the Bangladesh Test squad to tour one of the World's batting graveyards - South Africa on the back of some reasonable games for the Bangladeshi academy and some pretty atrocious ODIs against New Zealand and South Africa.
Armed with this secret recipe to success (so secret that very few people actually try what the Bangladeshis did and chuck a young unproven opener with a pretty unflattering record into Test cricket) Kayes took to the field in Bloemfontein with his new teammates. He stood and watched as Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla added 200+ for the 2nd wicket and then came out to bat on the 2nd day between lunch and tea.
Kayes fought for a while - heroically seeing off Steyn, Ntini and Morkel before being caught by Amla off the 'destructive' Harris bat-pad shortly before tea. After tea, Kayes found him like many Bangladeshi opening batsmen before and since, padding up again as the Bangladeshi's followed on before the close. This time Steyn cleaned him up off the inside edge as he found himself dismissed twice in less than half a day.
Things didn't get better for Kayes in the 2nd Test in Centurion as he was dismissed twice ct. Smith b. Ntini with tentative prods outside the offstump to be pouched in the slips cordon.
Ah well, a learning experience for the lad. Not good enough at this stage to face the South Africans in their own back yard, send him back to first class cricket and get some confidence back.
Nope, even better than that - let's take play him against the touring Sri Lankas and ensure that we completely **** up his International career. Maybe he'll do better on familiar wickets? Great thinking there, Bangladesh.
A reasonable 33 in the first innings at Mirpur was followed by a lazy run out in the 2nd innings and another pair of single digit scores at Chittagong.
Still, you have to appreciate the Bangladeshi's tenacity. Despite only occasionally showing the temperament required for Test cricket (most notably in two fighting innings at Lord's whilst touring England in 2010), Kayes still gets selected.
His current record of 16 test, 579 runs at 17.15 really does put him amongst the exalted company of this countdown.
Career Highlight
vs. India at Mirpur, Kayes was dismissed 1st ball in the first innings caught down the leg side wafting at an Ishant Sharma loosener, and followed this up in the 2nd innings by being intimidated by Zaheer Khan's express pace and being caught in the covers.
What they said about him
