Bangladesh's second One Day International (ODI) against West Indies today (Tuesday) is set to be the 100th international match to feature the quintet of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, reports ESPNcricinfo.
This is hardly rare in world cricket - there have been 64 such quintets - but it is a unique milestone given that the Bangladesh Cricket Board, team management and selectors have not always given players, especially seniors, a long rope.
Shakib is the best cricketer Bangladesh has ever produced, the superstar allrounder reaching new heights every season.
Tamim holds most of the team's batting records, having transformed himself, through changed fitness habits, from a fiery young opener to Bangladesh's top-order rock, and has performed consistently since 2015.
Mushfiqur, with the most overseas Test hundreds for Bangladesh, is the middle-order enforcer.
Mahmudullah has excelled in niche roles, be it as the designated death-overs hitter in the shorter formats, or in the Test middle order with two tough hundreds recently.
Mashrafe, the oldest of the five, has overcome career-threatening injuries to remain the team's leading fast bowler. Since 2015, he has also shaped the side's transformation, as a shrewd leader in limited-overs cricket and an excellent communicator in the dressing room.
Since Mahmudullah's debut in July 2007, the group has regularly played together.
It's no coincidence that Bangladesh have progressed rapidly in this period, with milestones like the quarter-final appearance in the 2015 World Cup, ODI series wins over India, Pakistan and South Africa in 2015, and this year's limited-overs series wins over West Indies.
Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah have also helped engineer Test wins over Australia, England and Sri Lanka over the last two years, and the recent 2-0 win against West Indies at home.
When they came together, Bangladesh had only begun winning regularly against teams like Kenya and Zimbabwe, with the odd flash-in-the-pan performance against the bigger teams.
Until December 2006, Bangladesh had lost 114 of their 147 international matches since gaining Test status.
In 2010, Shakib rose to become the team's best cricketer with a one-man show in the 4-0 ODI series win over New Zealand, achieved despite the absence of Tamim and Mashrafe, who were injured.
After a tough 2011, the quintet nearly won Bangladesh the 2012 Asia Cup before helping beat West Indies 3-2 in a home ODI series the same year. In the following year, they blanked New Zealand 3-0 at home.
Then came a year of horrors: before they trounced Zimbabwe at home late in the year, they lost 22 of their international matches in 2014, while winning just two.
Mashrafe took over as ODI and T20 captain, and Bangladesh were more consistent in 2015, with a good World Cup and four ODI series wins at home. In 2017, they made it to the Champions Trophy semi-final, and this year won ODI and T20I series in West Indies.
Mashrafe has not played T20Is since March 2017 but in the 50 matches the group has played together since January 2015 (prior to the ongoing ODI series), Bangladesh have a win percentage of 54 per cent. In the previous seven years - September 2007 to December 2014 - it was 39.60 per cent.
The quintet's impact is also seen in a more positive and professional dressing-room environment. They have embraced the need to address specifics in both skills and fitness training, and have also influenced the BCB to think differently about its cricketers.
Sri Lanka have nine of the ten longest quintet streaks in international cricket, and 40 such quintets with 100 or more international matches together.
The 196 international matches that Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Jayawardene played together between 1996 and 2007 is the most by any quintet. It wasn't just a testament to the number of matches the team played then but also the importance of a core group.
Australia, perhaps surprisingly, have had only one such quintet: Alan Border, David Boon, Dean Jones, Geoff Marsh and Steve Waugh, who played 114 matches together between 1986 and 1992. This was the peak of the rebuilding phase under Border, with the 1987 World Cup and Ashes triumphs in 1989 and 1990-91 as the high points.
Mohammad Azharuddin features in all five of India's 100-plus quintets while South Africa's ten quintets heavily feature Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis. Jeff Dujon features in all six of West Indies' quintets. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, have had two 100-plus quintets.