Who is Sakibul Gani? 5 interesting facts about Bihar batter who scored the fastest List A hundred by an Indian

Bihar captain Sakibul Gani scripted history after recording the fastest List-A hundred by an Indian. During the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy clash against Arunachal Pradesh, he struck a 32-ball hundred to help his side post a record 574-6 in Ranchi.

Bihar's innings had already witnessed history after Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed a 35-ball hundred in his 84-ball 190 run knock. However, the skipper, coming in at No.5, put on a show of his own while scoring an unbeaten 128 runs off 40 deliveries, a knock that included 10 fours and 12 sixes.

He now holds the record for the third-fastest List-A hundred in cricket history, only placed marginally behind Australia's Jake Fraser-McGurk and South Africa's AB de Villiers.

On that note, let us take a look at five interesting facts about Sakibul Gani, who scored the fastest List A hundred by an Indian.

#1 Sakibul Gani scored a triple hundred on first-class debut

Sakibul Gani came into the spotlight after scoring a mammoth and historic 341 on his Ranji Trophy debut in 2022. Featuring against Mizoram, he recorded a triple century while batting at No.5 and helping Bihar post a mammoth 686-5 in the first innings.

He surpassed Ajay Rohera's record of 267, scored during the 2018 Ranji Trophy, in a convincing fashion, and is only cricketer in the world to score a triple hundred on first class debut, and only one of the 25 cricketers to hit 200 or more on his debut appearance.

#2 Sakibul Gani is a fan of Virender Sehwag

Having played in both top and middle order with an aggressive approach, and recorded a triple hundred in red-ball cricket, Sakibul Gani's story matches that of his idol, Virender Sehwag. The Bihar cricketer has emphasised on multiple occasions that he is an ardent fan of the former India explosive batter.

"I played every stroke with a straight bat. But I would like to bat like Sehwag sir when I play T20s or List A cricket. My dream is to play for India, but before that I would love to play in the IPL one day," Sakibul Gani told ESPN in 2022 after his historic debut. "I really admire Virender Sehwag sir. I have watched all his batting videos. Just like Sehwag sir, I also want to make a name for myself. I want to meet Sehwag sir and ask him a lot of questions about batting. I want to take a lot of tips from him. I would love to ask him about his Multan knock (Sehwag scored a magnificent 309 vs Pakistan in the first Test in Multan, 2004 - India won by an innings and 52 runs) as well," Sakibul Gani told the Times of India.

#3 Sakibul Gani holds the record for most runs after first three first-class appearances

After his historic triple ton on his debut, Sakibul Gani followed it up with impactful knocks in his second appearance as well. In the 2022 Ranji Trophy clash against Sikkim at the Eden Gardens, he scored 98 and 101 in the first and the second innings respectively to end up with 540 runs in his first three innings in first class cricket.

His tally ended up being a new world record, as he overtook former Auckland batter Bill Carson, who struck 494 runs in his first three innings of first class cricket.

#4 Sakibul Gani hit Arshdeep Singh for three fours in the first over during 2024-25 SMAT

Leading Bihar in the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy clash against a star-studded Punjab outfit, Sakibul Gani made a massive statement while opening the batting. Facing established Indian speedster Arshdeep Singh, he smashed three boudnaries in the very first over of the match, including the first ball of his innings as well.

He scored a classic cover drive, a sublime flick, and a pull shot to get his team off to a positive start. While he scored a quick-fire 12-ball 27, Bihar could only post 113-6 on the board, and Punjab chased down the score with more than 10 oevrs to spare.

#5 Sakibul Gani was mentored by his brother who played for Bihar U-19

Being the youngest of six siblings, Sakibul Gani had a lot of guidance in his cricketing journey, especially from his elder brother, Faisal, who was also his mentor.

"In 2009, he (Sakibul) saw me playing a tournament, and then he came to me and said, he wants to be a cricketer. I used to take him to the cricket ground and make him sit and ask him to observe the game. I used to discuss the match at the end of the day with him. That's how I developed an interest in pushing him to take up the sport," Faisal told the Times of India. "I fell in love with the sport because of my elder brother (Faisal). I used to see him play and that too very closely. I used to clap and cheer for his performances. One day, he asked me - 'do you want to play cricket?' I didn't take time to answer and immediately said yes. After that his support and guidance is what has brought me here," Sakib spoke of his brother's role in his career.

Faisal, being a bowling all-rounder by profile, played for Bihar at the U-19 Level, and also played in the Cooch Behar Trophy. He led the team in the Vizzy Trophy as well at the university level, but could not get a call-up to the state's senior team.

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Edited by Gokul Nair