Former Bangladesh U-19 cricketer Mohammad Sozib committed suicide at his residence in Durgapur on November 14 at the age of 21. The local police confirmed the same.
Sozib, who hailed from Rajshahi, had represented Bangladesh in the U-19 World Cup captained by Saif Hassan in 2018. He last played competitive cricket in the 2017-18 Dhaka Premier League for Shinepukur Cricket Club.
The right-hander has played three Youth ODIs for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in 2017 and was among the standby players for the 2018 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. The young batsman was also part of the Bangladesh U19’s Asia Cup squad earlier.
Sozib made his List A debut in 2018 for Shinepukur but since March 2018, he hasn’t played a single match and even wasn’t a part of the draft for the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 Cup.
Reacting to the shocking news, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) game development manager Abu Enam Mohammad has expressed his shock at the Sozib’s decision saying not being part of the draft for the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 Cup might have prompted him to take the step.
Abu told BDcrictime, “Sozib was part of our U-19’s 2018 batch with Saif and Afif (Hossain). He was a standby in the World Cup. He played against Sri Lanka as well as in the Asia Cup. It’s really sad to hear this. It’s tough to say whether it’s from depression or anything else.”
The BCB official further said, “He hasn’t been regular in cricket in the past few years. He became too much Rajshahi centric. He played just first division and (Dhaka) Premier League in Dhaka. He wasn’t even in the Bangabandhu T20 draft. I don’t know if there is anything to be frustrated. He even played a match in Rajshahi day before yesterday.”
Meanwhile, Khaled Mahmud, the BCB director, also said Sozib was a talented cricketer and was surprised by his move. Sozib had started cricket training under Khaled, then head coach of Bangla Trac Academy in Rajshahi back in 2008.
Mahmud told Kaler Kantho, “I can’t believe what I heard. I am feeling extremely sad hearing the news. He was an opening batsman who bowled medium-pace, and he played for Shinepukur Cricket Club.”
