Born and brought up in Feni, a small town 176km south-east of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, Saifuddin's life as a cricketer took off when he was included in Bangladesh's Under-19 side in 2013. He had a productive Under-19 Youth ODI career, taking 45 wickets at 21.75 with one five-wicket haul.

His best performance at the Under-19 World Cup in 2016 grabbed the selectors' attention and ensured the powers-that-be in the Bangladesh Cricket Board took interest in him.

He had already made his first-class debut in 2014 although, after the 2016 World Cup, injury troubles and being reported for suspect action during the Dhaka Premier League - the domestic List-A competition - held him back. He was cleared later in the off-season, and in the 2017 league, took 25 wickets for Abahani Limited from 16 innings.

He made his T20 international debut against Sri Lanka in April 2017 before earning his maiden ODI call-up in South Africa, where he debuted in the first ODI of the series.
Mohammad Isam