DHAKA, Aug 29, 2026 (BSS) — Former Bangladesh cricketer Shahriar Nafees has published a book titled Play and Study, Win the Race, highlighting the importance of education alongside sports and its role in athletes’ lives.

The book was unveiled at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) headquarters today.

Nafees spoke about its concept and the research behind the publication.

The book features stories of international athletes, footballers, cricketers and coaches, as well as promising sportspeople who could not reach the highest level of their respective sports but benefited from their education in their later lives.

“This book has international players, footballers, cricketers and coaches. At the same time, there are stories of people who were promising cricketers or sportspeople but could not reach the ultimate level in sports,” Nafees said.

“They have shared in a beautiful and different way how education helped them in their lives.”

Nafees said the book also contains views from academics and professors on the relationship between education and sports.

“World-renowned professors have spoken about how important sports are for people in their lives, particularly in terms of studying and performing well academically,” he said.

According to Nafees, it took around three to three-and-a-half years to collect and compile the information used in the book. Rather than relying on randomly selected sources, he and his team gathered data from athletes and academics from different fields.

“We collected these data over the past three to three-and-a-half years. This was not random. There is data on 35 athletes in the book, and we collected their information and presented it in the form of stories,” he said.

Nafees also thanked the publisher and his colleagues for their contributions to the project. Despite his professional commitments limiting the time he could devote to the book, he expressed satisfaction at seeing the long-term project finally published.

He also thanked the BCB for allowing him to use its information and resources during the preparation of the book, while acknowledging contributions from universities in the United Kingdom and athletes from different levels of Bangladesh’s sporting community.