'Had to fight for Mustafiz'

Bangladesh pace bowling coach Heath Streak has earned plenty of acclaim in the last one week. The four pacers in the side are all confident and it has been the fast bowlers who have caused  major problems for the Indian batting in the series so far. One bowler in particular that impressed him the most was Mustafizur Rahman.

“We fought hard to get him [Mustafizur] into the T20 squad against Pakistan and he showed what he is capable of. Since then it has been good to have Mustafiz, Taskin [Ahmed] and Rubel [Hossain] who we know can perform,” said Streak at the team hotel yesterday.

While Mustafizur did enchant the country with his record breaking performance, Streak emphasised caution regarding the youngster.

“He is still very young. We have to be careful. He has taken 11 wickets but we can't expect him to take five wickets every time. He has shown his potential. If we look after him and support him, he will be a big match-winner for us.

“When Mashrafe started, he was looked after throughout his career. We have to make sure to have the system to support not just the young players, but the old players as well. Everyone has a role to play,” said Streak.

“We are starting to see Taskin and Rubel show a lot more experience and putting that into practice. In the first two games their spells were under-rated. Rubel's wicket yesterday was at an important time for us. Taskin got [Shikhar] Dhawan and [Virat] Kohli in the first game, it was fantastic for us,” he added.