Ebadat Hossain Chowdhury's journey from being a volleyball player for Bangladesh Air Force to becoming a Test cricketer in February 2019 was a short, and interesting, one. Living in their barracks, Ebadat dreamt of bowling like Brett Lee one day. His dream came true when he took part in the 2016 Robi Pacer Hunt in Faridpur, crisscrossing 342km southwest from his hometown Sylhet. He was one of the top three bowlers, and was duly picked by the scouts to a training camp in Dhaka.

He immediately impressed Aaqib Javed, who had come to Bangladesh as a short-term fast bowling consultant, before making his first-class debut for Sylhet against Rajshahi. It was followed by a draft pick in the BPL, by Rajshahi Kings. But Ebadat's breakthrough came at the start of the 2018-19 domestic season, having taken 21 wickets in the BCL first-class tournament. It included a 10-wicket haul against North Zone, including international batsmen Najmul Hossain Shanto, Marshall Ayub and Mosaddek Hossain.

He also impressed during the 2019 BPL, including figures of 4 for 17 against Chittagong Vikings in Sylhet Sixers' last game. It led to Ebadat's inclusion in the Test squad, in place of Taskin Ahmed who had been injured in the same game.
Mohammad Isam