While there are those who are tempted to abandon their dreams after a major hurdle, the story of Siraj Ullah Khadem illustrates the possibilities that can be found when an individual never stops chasing their dreams despite the cruel twists of fate.

Bangladesh are set to embark on a month-long tour in the West Indies this month to test their skills in all three formats against the home side, once an undisputed powerhouse of the game.

Yasir Ali Chowdhury has shown great potential in his fledgling Test career and the right-hander is expected to play a big role in Bangladesh's middle-order on the tour of the West Indies as he fills a vacancy left by the absence of the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim. The 26-year-old, who will travel to the Caribbean today, spoke to The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin before boarding a flight, discussing his plans and some other topics during an exclusive interview. The excerpts are below:

On the back of a 1-0 defeat in the recently-concluded Test series against Sri Lanka and with a packed schedule ahead of Bangladesh, some of the members of the national team have taken a break ahead of their upcoming West Indies tour next month.

Sri Lanka got the breakthrough they were looking for early on the final day of their series-deciding Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur today.

Bangladesh may not have an impressive Test records in the last 15 Test they played, having won only three matches where two of them came against the lowly ranked Zimbabwe. However, two Bangladesh batters have been exceptional during this period and find themselves on top in two separate lists.

Bangladesh batter Liton Das and Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews have made valuable gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after fine performances in the drawn first match of their ICC World Test Championship series in Chattogram.

Both Shakib and Mushfiqur are 35 and Tamim is 33. Siddons said that his aim was to get the seniors to end their careers on a high.

“He has a deeper understanding of his game and that is making the difference,” Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a long-term mentor to Mushfiqur Rahim, said about one of his favourite students while talking to The Daily Star yesterday.

“I think Sri Lanka are still behind. If we can pick up a few early wickets in the first hour of the [third] day, then we will have the upper hand. The first innings is crucial. If they get close to our total or go past it, then we will be on the back foot. So it will be important to take a first-innings lead,” Liton opined.

Even though Bangladesh lost two early wickets on the second day of their second Test against Sri Lanka in Mirpur today, Mushfiqur Rahim kept on going as the experienced campaigner brought up his 150. 

There were very slim chances that the Chattogram Test, between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, would render a result. In fact, Sri Lanka all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva admitted that they ‘knew it was going to be a draw from the first day.’

Mushfiqur Rahim beat Tamim Iqbal to the punch as the former became the first Bangladeshi batter to have reached the 5000-run landmark in Tests during the Tigers’ fourth day’s play of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram today.

Two Bangladesh batters – Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim – are on the verge of reaching the five thousand-run landmark in Test cricket as the Tigers approach the third day of the Chattogram Test against Sri Lanka today.

Mushfiqur Rahim struck an unbeaten 203 -- his third double ton in Test cricket -- on the third day of the one off Test against Zimbabwe. The right-hander already held the record for the greatest number of double centuries for Bangladesh and he celebrated his third double hundred in Test cricket a little differently today.

Three of Bangladesh’s top cricketers Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza have made it on to a definitive list of the world's top 100 most famous sports people compiled by global media company ESPN.

Generally, Mushfiqur Rahim's mood depends on his on-field performances and, known for his sheer determination and eagerness to play every game for Bangladesh, it was a welcome sight for the team management to see the wicketkeeper-batsman back in action again.

Following his injury in the second ODI, Mushfiqur Rahim had sat out the first two Tests where the Tigers fell to big-margin defeats. The cricketer is still eager to comeback to the lineup -- despite suffering a broken rib cage and a finger injury – and has started practicing with the cricket ball once again today

Just as he entered the Basin Reserve Stadium in Wellington, the venue for Bangladesh's second Test against host New Zealand, Mushfiqur Rahim looked up at the heavens, muttered something under his breath and joined his team mates for the warm up session yesterday.

Bangladesh's wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim climbed 13 steps up the ICC Test batting ranking ladder after becoming the first wicketkeeper to score two double centuries -- the last of which came in the second Test against Zimbabwe earlier this month.