Taskin Ahmed

Taskin Ahmed Tazim is a Bangladeshi international cricketer who was born on 3 April 1995 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Taskin is a right-arm fast bowler who is known to have the ability to bowl a heavy ball and has represented his nation across all formats.

Taskin started playing professional cricket at the Abahani playground in 2007. After playing in the youth levels, he was selected to play for the Bangladesh U-19 team. He made his first-class debut for Dhaka Metropolis in 2011 against Barisal Division. In the 2012 ICC Under-19 World Cup, Taskin was the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh, taking 11 wickets. In the following edition, he impressed, taking 8 wickets in 4 matches, including a four-fer in the semi-final against Duronto Rajshahi. In October 2018, Taskin was named in the squad for the Sylhet Sixers team following the draft for the 2018-19 Bangladesh Premier League. He was the leading wicket-taker for the team in the tournament, with 22 dismissals in twelve matches.

On 1 April 2014, Mashrafe Murtaza was ruled out of a T20I game against Australia due to an injury and Taskin caught a lucky break as he was handed his international debut for the senior national side. He even picked up the wicket of Glenn Maxwell in that game. He then went on to make his ODI debut against India on 17 June 2014 and picked up a five-wicket haul, the first for a Bangladeshi bowler on debut in an ODI match.

Taskin was selected in Bangladesh's squad for the 2015 Cricket World Cup for his outstanding performance in domestic cricket in the 2014 season. In the group stage of the World Cup, he took one wicket against Afghanistan, three against Scotland, and two against England, which had a very important role in qualifying in the quarter-final where Bangladesh faced India in Melbourne. Taskin impressed again by taking three wickets. He was the highest wicket-taker from Bangladesh in the World Cup.

Taskin then went on to play an important role in white-washing Pakistan in the limited-over series in May 2015 and also in the ODI series win against India a month later. In 2016, Taskin was selected in Bangladesh's squad for the 2016 ICC World T20. However, he was later suspended from bowling in international cricket due to an illegal action during the tournament. In September 2021, he was named in Bangladesh's squad for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Taskin made his Test debut for Bangladesh against New Zealand on 12 January 2017 and picked up his maiden Test wicket dismissing Kane Williamson. In June 2021, he was named in Bangladesh's squad across all formats for their tour to Zimbabwe. In the only Test match against Zimbabwe, he scored 75 runs and claimed his maiden half-century in Test cricket. He sustained a partnership of 191 runs along with Mahmudullah, which was the second-highest ninth-wicket partnership in Test cricket back then.

Taskin then played in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups for Bangladesh. In the latter one, he bowled a 149.56 km/h delivery, making him one of the fastest bowlers in the country. In 2023, he dismantled Ireland in a T20I series before making his way into the ODI World Cup squad. The following year, he also played in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Later that year, he picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests in the first match of the two-match away series against West Indies. He also played a crucial role in cleansweeping the Windies 3-0 in the T20I series.