‘You can stay here in India’ – Mohammad Rafique spills the beans on his friendly conversation with Sourav Ganguly

Mohammad Rafique, the former Bangladesh cricketer, recently went down the memory lane to the heartfelt conversation he had with Sourav Ganguly. Even after playing his last game for the Tigers back in 2008, the 49-year-old Rafique is the country’s fourth-highest wicket-taker with 220 scalps after Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzak.

The southpaw said that Ganguly, the current BCCI president, asked him to stay back in India since he commutes on a frequent basis. Rafique recalled the time when he gifted the Prince of Kolkata jerseys of the Rangpur Riders, now Rangers, a team in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

I go to Sourav’s academy regularly: Mohammad Rafique

“Two years ago, I went to India with a Rangpur Riders team. I took a Riders’ jersey for Sourav as well and I stayed there for quite some time. Then Sourav said ‘You are doing so much, so you can stay here as well since you commute frequently’. I replied, ‘We are the same country, Kolkata and Bangladesh are similar’,” Rafique was quoted as saying in BDcrictime.

Rafique said how he sends teams to Sourav Ganguly’s academy in Kolkata. The veteran also talked about the camaraderie between India and Bangladesh.

“I go to Sourav’s academy regularly and send three to four teams. Late cricketer Atiq bhai used to organise everything there and I used to send teams. They have two to three teams. So, the friendship between the two countries also strengthened. The teams’ jerseys have national flags of both countries. The tournament is really competitive,” Rafique added.

Rafique said that bearing in mind Sourav’s busy schedule, he hasn’t been in touch with the former Indian cricketer. However, he keeps on contacting Snehasish Ganguly, Sourav’s brother, and interacted with him even a week ago. He also thanked Ganguly for organising the historic Day-Night Test between India and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

As far as his career is concerned, Rafique was a linchpin of the Tigers’ setup before the likes of Shakib and Mashrafe took charge. He made his debut back in 1995 and his career spanned 13 years. Rafique also went on to play 17 matches for Bangladesh in the World Cup, picking up 12 wickets.