Naeem Islam is a Bangladeshi international cricketer. He was born on 31 December 1986 in Gaibandha and is a right-handed batsman and occasional off break bowler.
Naeem Islam was one of three uncapped players called into the Bangladesh squad for a series of three One Day Internationals (ODIs) against New Zealand in October 2008, shortly after the exodus. Chief selector Rafiqul Alam called Islam a “talented young batsman”. He played in all three matches in the series, although his first innings was not until the second match when he was run out without facing a ball.Naeem top scored in the final match with an unbeaten 46 in Chittagong, although that was unable to prevent his side slumping to a 79-run loss. He made the highest score in the famous triumph in the Plate final over Australia, the defending champions. Eight of his team-mates who played the final, including Aftab Ahmed and Shahadat Hossain, made it to the national team. Islam earned a call-up to Bangladesh’s ODI squad in October 2008 after the likes of Aftab, Shahriar Nafees and Alok Kapali joined the ICL. His performances helped as well: during Bangladesh’s Academy tour of Sri Lanka, during which he captained the side, he led the batting averages with 304 runs at 43.42 from six games.
The all-rounder is yet to establish himself in the Test squad, he is considered as a short form specialist. Although he scored a hundred in the first Test against West Indies in December 2012, he was not considered for the Tests against New Zealand in 2013. However, he played in the ODI series against New Zealand and was the highest run-getter for Bangladesh in that series. Even though he scored runs against the Kiwis, he was not considered for the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka in 2014, but he played the Asia Cup and had a forgettable outing as well. The selectors did not pick him after that for the T20 World Cup.