‘Mustafiz was a magician’ – Mash hails fantastic last over

Former Bangladesh captain and Abahani coach Khaled Mahmud Sujon defended the BCB's stance of not extending Mustafizur Rahman's NOC for the IPL and bringing him back for next month's Zimbabwe series, saying that 'country comes first.'

"At the end of the day, I believe, the country should always come first," Sujon said after Abahani's match against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur today.

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'Mustafizur has nothing to learn from IPL'

Mustafizur is currently in India, playing for the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. The left-arm pacer has been an important member of the Chennai set-up this year, claiming 10 wickets in five games and is third on the wicket-takers' list.

However, the pacer will have to cut his stint short with CSK and return to Bangladesh for the Tiger's five-match Twenty20 series at home against Zimbabwe, starting on May 3.

It's not uncommon for cricket boards to allow their players a leave from international assignments to take part in the IPL. But Sujon believes that calling back Mustafizur for the Zimbabwe series is the correct decision.

"I would've been glad if Mustafizur could've played the whole IPL. There would've been no issues if the national team didn't have any series. Now, some may say that the New Zealand cricketers are staying back for the IPL. But we don't have 10-12 bowlers like Mustafizur, we need to keep that in mind as well," he added.

Yesterday, the chairman of cricket operations at the BCB Jalal Yunus made headlines by claiming that Mustafizur had nothing to learn by playing in the IPL.

Sujon didn't agree with that sentiment but also explained what Jalal might have been trying to express with that statement.

"You can learn from everywhere… Maybe he [Jalal] didn't mean it like that. He probably meant that Mustafizur has been playing for many years, he is not a young pacer like Tanzim Hasan Sakib. He is already a very big name in world cricket. He probably meant it from that angle. The young Indian pacers can learn from Mustafizur, that's what he meant."

However, Sujon also said that Bangladesh didn't need Mustafizur's services to beat Zimbabwe at home and the team might rest the pacer for a few matches in the series to keep him refreshed for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup in June.

"Not really [needing Mustafizur to win against Zimbabwe]… Jalal also spoke about Mustafizur's workload management. Mustafizur might not even play in the first two matches."

Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was in one of his usual nonchalant moods when he arrived for a press conference yesterday to field questions regarding the team's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. It was the last day of training for the players with the team set to board a flight for Sri Lanka today and when the day began, no one would have predicted the grim turn of events that came after the press conference as the ODI skipper was ruled out of the Sri Lanka series following an injury he suffered during a net bowling session.

The Bangladesh players were undergoing a relaxed training session when Mashrafe walked into the press conference with the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mustafizur Rahman and Co. engrossed in a keepie-uppie session.

There were questions about Mashrafe's fitness throughout the World Cup and it was only natural that he had to field questions about his fitness from the beginning of the press conference.

"I have practiced for two days now without any problems. I am hoping that everything is well," Mashrafe reiterated.

He answered questions about his retirement plans and the team's focus and planning for the upcoming series in Sri Lanka, slated to begin from July 26. The skipper undertook those questions with his natural charisma while maintaining that he had the focus to bounce back after dismal World Cup performances.

It was in the evening following the press conference that news began to surface that Mashrafe had suffered an injury during a net session. He had niggling injuries even prior to the World Cup but it did not affect his ability to play for the Tigers. During the net session, he pulled a hamstring -- an injury that is familiar to the speedster -- and was subsequently ruled out of the Sri Lanka series.

Later Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Minhajul Abedin confirmed that all-rounder Forhad Reza, who was in Chattogram participating in a one-day series against the Afghanistan A team, was included in the 14-member squad as Mashrafe's replacement.

"He pulled his hamstring during training today. We are yet to receive the medical report but at the moment it looks difficult for him to play in the series. We have decided to include Forhad Reza as his replacement," chief selector Minhajul Abedin told The Daily Star yesterday.

A BCB media release later confirmed that Mashrafe sustained a Grade-1 injury.

"He received an immediate MSK ultrasound examination which revealed a Grade-1 injury. It is a recurring injury that could take around three to four weeks to recover. Therefore, he was ruled out from participation in sporting activities for a month," BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury was quoted as saying in the BCB release.

Later yesterday, the management decided that Tamim Iqbal would captain the side for the tour. With Shakib Al Hasan allowed a break for the tour's duration, the loss of the skipper will come as a big blow for the Tigers. Since becoming Bangladesh captain back in 2014, this is the first series he will miss through injury. To make matters worse, late yesterday, Mohammad Saifuddin was also ruled out with a lower back injury with fast bowler Taskin Ahmed replacing him in the squad.

Mustafizur Rahman is known as a man of few words in the Bangladeshi media circuit, always giving brief, to-the-point answers to elaborate questions from journalists.

His interactions with the media get even more limited when playing in overseas leagues owing to language barrier, evidenced by him not speaking in the post-match presentation ceremony after winning the player-of-the-match award in his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) debut on March 22.

However, in a rare instance, Mustafizur spoke uninterruptedly in a 5:14-minute clip released yesterday on CSK social media platforms.

In the video, the pacer gave insights on his cricketing journey, his ongoing stint with the CSK, and also revealed that similar to his media interactions, he adopts a minimalistic approach in his cricket viewing as well, only watching the death overs action while skipping the rest.

"I've always been less inclined to watch matches, I prefer playing," Mustafizur said in the video, which is part of CSK's video series 'Lions Up Close'.

"I think that it's better for me to watch at that period [death overs]. Even when I watch a Twenty20 match, I only watch the final four overs or so. I try to observe which areas the batsmen are hitting the ball at, how they are playing. Very rarely I watch the entire 40 overs of the match," he added.

Although Mustafizur failed to defend 17 runs in the last over against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Chennai's previous match last Tuesday, he remains the team's most successful bowler thus far this season, with 12 wickets in seven games.

The 28-year-old pacer further revealed that playing for the five-time IPL champions had been his long-cherished dream.

"This is my first season with Chennai. Since I began playing in the IPL in 2016, it has been my dream to play for the Chennai team. After getting the call [from CSK management] that night, I couldn't sleep."

Mustafizur spoke highly of the relaxed atmosphere of the Chennai team and how former CSK captain MS Dhoni, who relinquished captaincy this season, and bowling coach Dwayne Bravo have been sharing their knowledge with him.

"Everyone here is friendly. The environment has been good from day one, I haven't felt uneasy at all. Mahi bhai [Dhoni] showed me some field setups, Bravo spoke to me about how to bowl in the death overs. These inputs have been invaluable."

"We mostly speak about bowling. I haven't really spoken about anything else. We speak sometimes on the field about what to do. Mahi bhai comes to me and tells me that it would be better if I did this."

Mustafizur's IPL stint this year is nearing its end. He will be available for two more matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 28 and May 1, respectively, after which he will return home for Bangladesh's five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe at home, starting on May 3.

There have been debates about whether the board should have extended Mustafizur's NOC, allowing him to play the entire season.

Mustafizur has remained quiet throughout the debate but yesterday he expressed his belief that playing at the IPL is the best possible preparation for any cricketer. "More star players from all countries take part in the IPL compared to other tournaments. I feel that if I can succeed here, it will be easier for me to succeed elsewhere."

A placard reading "We love you Miraz" held by a Bangladesh fan in the stands of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium yesterday reflected the trust the all-rounder has gained in recent times.

Never shy of taking on responsibilities, Mehedi Hasan Miraz has been skipper Shakib Al Hasan's go-to man as of late.

The 25-year-old once again showed his class in the Tigers' all-important World Cup 2023 opener against Afghanistan in Dharamshala yesterday, producing an all-round performance to guide Bangladesh to a convincing six-wicket win.

Miraz did the job with the ball first -- the off-spinner ended with figures of three for 25 in nine overs, including three maidens. The all-rounder then came in at number three for the first time in ODIs and went on to play a momentum-swinging 57-run knock off 73 deliveries.

It was Miraz's 97-run third-wicket stand with Najmul Hossain Shanto that saw Bangladesh recover from a precarious two for 27 in chase of a paltry 157-run target.

Miraz has often shied away from expressing his own philosophy, remaining in the shadow of the seniors despite having the potential to become the next big thing in Bangladesh cricket.

But it was a different Miraz attending the post-match presser yesterday. Bold, poised, and confident, it was as if Miraz's improvement as a genuine all-rounder had transformed his personality as well. An ever-smiling Miraz is now more confident and specific with his replies.

"I have worked really hard on my batting. I have thought long and hard about it, how I can improve my batting. I prepared myself really well. The team also gave me a lot of opportunities up the order. It is a big deal for me," said Miraz when asked about his mental preparedness in order to bat at any position asked.

In the past 12 months, Miraz batted at various positions -- from coming in at number nine to scoring a century while opening the innings against the same opposition in the last Asia Cup in September.

"Every position poses a different situation. I don't think too much whenever presented with an opportunity. If you think simply, it is better to bat anywhere above number eight. The team gets help if I play well. I face some problems but I don't focus on them. I have to perform well for the team, that's the most important thing," he added.

Miraz, however, admitted that he was nervous initially with the ball in hand after he gave away nine in his first over. But the off-spinner managed to make a comeback, pairing with Shakib to build pressure on the Afghans with some tight bowling.

"When the pacers weren't doing well at the top, it put the spinners under pressure. Shakib bhai got two wickets which boosted the team. We started bowling well from both ends. We didn't expect such a wicket in Dharamhsala, but we got the ball to turn in our first two or three overs. The ball stopped a bit. We shared this information with everyone, about how to bowl in this wicket. We had great communication throughout the game," said Miraz.

The all-rounder has always been handy with the ball in any format, but his recent transformation as a batter unsurprisingly brought the topic of him being the next Shakib in the making for Bangladesh. But for now, Miraz kept quiet on the matter, perhaps not thinking too much about it as well and focusing only on doing his job.