The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) celebrated the 25th anniversary of the country's Test status, which was granted in 2000. Prominent members of Bangladesh's first Test team attended the event along with other cricket stars and organisers on Thursday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The anniversary event served as a reunion opportunity for the cricketers, many of whom met each other after years.

The spotlight shone on the stars of the first Test match, as hundreds of media members documented the historic moments, their camera flashes illuminating the scene.

In the last 25 years, Bangladesh has won only 23 Test matches out of 154 they’ve played, a performance considered below par for a Test-playing nation.

However, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, the sports advisor and a guest at the event, stated that Bangladesh ranks fourth among teams when comparing their performance in the first 25 years.

"We hope we will become stronger in the coming years," Asif said.

Asif and Aminul Islam, the BCB president and a member of the first Test squad who famously scored a century in that inaugural match, each presented the squad members with a special blazer.

Squad members signed a special jersey and shared their memories of playing for the Bangladesh team.

Mehrab Hossain, the opener of the first Test, shared a lighthearted memory.

“During our practice days leading up to the first Test, we had special t-shirts that we were required to wear on the team bus, or face a 500 taka fine,” Mehrab recounted. “But I'd given mine away. So, I grabbed our coach's XXL t-shirt, changed the size to XL with a pen, and wore it instead.” The audience erupted in laughter.

Sarwar Imran, the coach of the first Test, was also present. While recounting the memory of the first Test, he said, “I still remember the performance of (Habibul) Bashar, (Naimur Rahman) Durjoy, and (Aminul Islam) Bulbul.”

Habibul hit a fifty in that historic match in 2000 against India, while Naimur took six wickets, and Aminul made history with a century.

Sarwar attributed Bangladesh's failure in the second innings, after scoring 400 in the first, to inexperience.

Shahriar Hossain, Mohammad Rafique, and Hasibul Hossain were among the other squad members who were present. However, the captain of the first Test, Naimur, and other members, including Akram Khan, Khaled Masud, missed the event.

During the event, BCB president Aminul shared that the BCB is progressing with plans to establish regional cricketing bodies to empower grassroots-level cricket and strengthen the pipeline of cricketing talent.

Asif Mahmud announced that 100 schools across the country will have a synthetic pitch at their school ground so that they can play cricket in a better, more suitable environment.

While celebrating 25 years of Test cricket, the BCB inaugurated an honours board to inscribe the names of cricketers who have played Test cricket for Bangladesh. The board is installed close to the Bangladesh team's dressing room.