[3] In 1984, Athar played for the Bangladesh Tigers in the first South East Asian Cup.
During the season 1984–85 he was part of the Dhaka University team which won the National cricket title.
In the semi-final, against Dhaka district, Athar scored 155 and shared a record stand of 447 with Tariquzzaman Munir (308).
Then on the final day of 1990, he entertained the huge 50,000-strong crowd at Eden Garden, Calcutta with a score of 78* against Sri Lanka.
[7] Athar played for Bangladesh in three ICC Trophy tournaments, in England in 1986, in Kenya in 1994 and finally in Malaysia in 1997.
He had a disappointing time in England in '86, as he lost his place in the side midway through the trophy, due to lack of form.
[11] Athar played for Bangladesh in 3 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation cricket tournaments in Dhaka.