Nazmul Islam born 21 March 1991 also known as Nazmul Apu is a Bangladeshi first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricketer and former international cricketer. Nazmul is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm orthodox spin bowler.
After making his first-class debut in 2010 at the age of just under 19, Nazmul had to take the long route to the senior side, compared to how many of Bangladesh cricketers stay in the BCB’s system from the age-group playing years. His breakthrough season was 2013-14 when he took 31 wickets in the National Cricket League. However, he was always behind other left-arm spinners like Abdur Razzak, Enamul Haque jnr and Saqlain Sajib in the pecking order. Nazmul had to rely on the BPL editions to remain in the eye of selectors. His 12 wickets in the 2017 edition finally caught the attention and he was given a call-up to Bangladesh’s T20I squad in February 2018. Although he didn’t pick up as many wickets initially, the Bangladesh think-tank understood his effectiveness. In August 2018, Nazmul was one of twelve debutants to be selected for a 31-man preliminary squad for Bangladesh ahead of the 2018 Asia Cup. Later that month, he was named in Bangladesh’s fifteen-man squad for the tournament. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Bangladesh against Afghanistan on 23 September 2018
In October 2018, Nazmul was named in Bangladesh’s Test squad for their series against Zimbabwe. He made his Test debut for Bangladesh against Zimbabwe on 3 November 2018.
Switching to the longest format is still some time away for Nazmul Islam who made his international debut in 2018 in February 2018. Apart from being steady with the ball, he hogged the limelight for his theatrical celebrations, notably the ‘Naagin Dance’ which became a rage after senior player Mushfiqur Rahim also took up the act. These are still early days in Nazmul’s career but the selectors do seem to have faith him. However, with stiff competition, especially in the spin department, Nazmul Islamcannot afford to put a foot wrong.