Anyone who follows the game of cricket knows exactly who Mohammad Isam is. For avid fans of the sport, he is a vessel whose scoops have allowed them to travel around the glorious world of cricket vicariously and explore it. He has been extensively covering Bangladesh’s cricketing scene with his work for ESPN cricinfo and is their Bangladesh correspondent since 2012 and his voice has brought to us countless tales and his bravery gave the world the first bit of intel about the Christchurch mosque shooting in 2019. However, his impressive resume barely scratches the surface of what cricket is to him. Isam is embedded in the fabric of Bangladeshi cricket in a very unique way and not many individuals have seen the depths and nuances of the sport as closely as him. He has compiled his stories throughout the years in the form of a book titled “On The Tigers’ Trail” which was released last month. A must buy for any cricket fan, we wanted to peel off the layers and pick the brain of a true cricket connoisseur to bring to you his tale and how this book came to be.
When we said Isam is tied to the cricketing world unlike no one else, we meant it. The man has experienced all the facets of the sports both on and off the pitch. He started out as a professional cricketer in 2001 but his love for the game stems back as far as his early childhood. “I come from a very sporting family, two of my cousins played cricket professionally, I had an uncle who played professional football, another who had a blackbelt in judo and one who was a badminton champion so this is where my inclination towards sports came from. On top of that, my mother watched a lot of cricket on TV and we used to visit the stadium quite frequently,” Isam explained. Growing up, he was an avid fan of the Australian cricket team and hails Shane Warne and Steve Waugh as his childhood heroes and inspiration. Isam played cricket professionally for 9 years which includes a season in Dhaka Premier League which is the highest level of cricket in Dhaka and one of the biggest domestic tournaments in Bangladesh as well as 7 seasons in Dhaka’s first division league which is the second tier. He has played alongside the likes of Rajin Saleh, Forhad Reza and has also played against Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan when they were much younger.
During his playing career, he was also working for Daily Star as a sports journalist. “I joined as a desk intern and eventually became a sub-editor. I spent 6 years there. After my playing career was over in 2010, I joined ESPN cricinfo in 2012 as their Bangladesh correspondent and over the past decade, I have covered a lot of news and done a lot of interviews and profiles for them ,” he added. On the Tigers’ Tale is basically an anthology of Isam’s writings for cricinfo for the last 10 years. Comprised of 26 pieces, It was his friend/publisher Daniel Rahman, the co-founder of The Mighty Press who gave him the idea to put together his collection of stories in a book format and Isam took this opportunity to bring his stories to the world while also taking his first steps towards a career as an author. The book brings to light stories and aspects of the game unbeknownst to us and indeed gives us a new take on the game. “There are a few stories that standout. There is one about the Dhaka Premier League which is one of the oldest professional leagues in limited over cricket in the world and also one of the most thriving ones. Extremely well organized, even better than the BPL I would say. Its structure and format makes it an ideal breeding ground for world class talent. I also did a story on Bangladesh’s rise as a potent force in left arm spin starting from Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haque in the past to Shakib Al Hasan today who broke so many records as a left arm spinner. Another one of my personal favorites is the one that covers the story of Salauddin Shakil, a migrant worker who escaped slavery in Dubai, came back to Bangladesh, started a career in cricket and almost made it to the first team. I am really proud of that one. I would also recommend to anyone buying the book to read the foreword written by one of my writing heroes, Rahul Bhattacharya,” he elaborated.
The book also contains Isam’s own accounts from his time as a cricketer. “Around 13 years ago when I was still a net bowler and the England National Team came to Bangladesh, their coach Andy Flower asked me to help one of the batsmen. They needed someone to simulate the bowling style of Bangladesh’s finest and felt my style resembled theirs. That was a huge compliment in itself but the biggest surprise came after I turned up the next day and found out that the person I was going to bowl to would be none other than Kevin Pietersen, one of my favorite cricketers. I spent three hours bowling to him and got him out many times. We then started talking cricket and I found myself hanging out and discussing the game with two living legends of the sport,” described Isam. While these stories along with all the trivia makes the book extremely captivating, what stands out the most about it is the bridge it has effectively built between cricketers and fans making them. Cricketers are viewed as these larger than life characters and the media mostly portrays their lavish celebrity lifestyles so we tend to forget that at the end of the day they are just people like us. Through his accounts however, Isam highlights the qualities that make cricketers more relatable to us. “At the start of my career, I always assumed that these are celebrities and very important people. Which they are but the more I interacted with them the more I found out about their humility. Celebrity life can be quite challenging and cricketers only get 10-15 years of playing time so they have to make the most of it on and off the field but they can be equally humble. They have the same insecurities as us but the only thing that sets them apart is the special spark they have because of their talent and the mental skill to handle all the pressure. One of the best memories I have in terms of following a player is I followed Mashrafe for a few months to do a long interview titled the ‘The Torch Bearer’ (you can find it in the book). The more time I spent in his presence, the more I learned about his mannerisms and how he made sure that every player feels comfortable. These are qualities which one can see from afar. Mashrafe is truly a great teammate and a very tactical individual”, he stated.
The book is truly a delight for any cricket lover and so the positive response it has received thus far hardly comes as a surprise. Isam intends to follow up on the success of his first book with the release of a few more in the coming year. “I want to do some serious books and I am currently working on a few projects. The response of the first book is a positive sign as I needed to know if I fit into the world of writing and publishing. I intend to build a career here alongside my career in journalism,” Isam added in his concluding notes.
