Jaker Ali- Bangladesh’s ace in the pack? He can be the team’s secret sauce with this upturn in all-format batting.
After winning just two games in the first half of 2025, Bangladesh men’s cricket has been in decline. For a multi-format series with doubts about their hitters, they go next to Sri Lanka. Mushfiqur Rahim only plays Test cricket, Mahmudullah has retired from all forms, Litton Das has lost his spot in ODIs, Mehidy Hasan Miraz is not a regular in T20Is, and Najmul Hossain Shanto is no longer the team’s first choice in T20Is.
In all three formats, the only player who is a sure pick is Jaker Ali, who has played international cricket for less than two years. In challenging situations, he has amassed four fifties in five Test matches and four more in white-ball formats.
Jaker has benefited from two things. With 47 sixes in various forms over his brief career, he has established himself as a big-hitter. Along with being a talkative wicketkeeper and an enthusiastic outfielder, he is also a player who shows his emotions.
There was indignation when he wasn’t moved up the order in Bangladesh’s most recent match against Pakistan because he has become such a vital member of their batting lineup in Twenty20 Internationals. Shortly after being defeated by the United Arab Emirates in a T20I series, Bangladesh lost the series 3-0. However, Jaker claims that the team isn’t demoralised by the losses.
Jaker made his debut in the Bangladeshi setup in a unique way. He has two fifties and a hundred for Bangladesh A since 2019, making him a reliable, albeit unimpressive, player in domestic cricket. His cricket career took a different turn as he failed to make an impression in his first three BPL seasons.
Near the end of 2022, he enrolled in a pre-BPL program at the Masco Cricket Academy outside of Dhaka. Mohammad Salahuddin, the head coach of the Comilla Victorians and currently the assistant coach for Bangladesh, led it. Jaker spent four weeks honing his power-hitting technique there, preparing and working to cultivate the necessary mindset.
It had an effect. After hitting seven sixes in 14 innings across his three BPL seasons, Jaker hit 11 sixes in 11 innings during the 2023 competition. The next season, he increased that total to 14 sixes in 10 innings. Additionally, he improved his strike rate considerably, reaching 141.13 in 2024, focussing on an area where he believes Bangladesh has fallen short. “I think we have had this weakness [power-hitting] for a long time. I took on the challenge to get over this barrier,” he says.
Late last year, Jaker’s first tour took place in the West Indies. Bangladesh’s batting resources had been exhausted due to injuries to Towhid Hridoy, Najmul, Mushfiqur, and the captain. Before a lengthy journey, the team’s confidence was drained as Afghanistan defeated them 2-1 in an ODI series in Sharjah on their way to the Caribbean. Jaker’s 53 was the team’s highest score in the first Test, which they lost badly in Antigua.
So far, Jaker hasn’t had much time to think back on his international career. Bangladesh has been playing cricket virtually nonstop in recent years, and they have a lot more cricket still to play in 2025. Jaker has a single objective, yet he believes in both mental and physical training.
In the past few years, Bangladesh’s batters have depended on Jaker to clean up their mess—which has been numerous—in all three formats. Having to carry out these rescue operations doesn’t seem to bother him. He has shown hints of the batter he may become in the process, given some assistance from the middle and top orders.