Published on 01:14 PM, May 04, 2016

Mustafizur makes the IPL team of the tournament

Mustafizur Rahman has fun behind the wheels of a go-kart. Photo taken from Mustafizur’s Facebook page.

While Sunrisers Hyderabad players got a kick out of racing each other on the go-karting track on their day off, Bangladesh left-arm wonder Mustafizur Rahman had another reason to celebrate as he was chosen in the IPL team of the tournament in a compilation carried out by Cricket Australia yesterday.

Mustafizur was the find of the World T20 and he is now a full-on superstar in the IPL. The left-armer has all the tricks; the cutters, the yorkers, the slower balls and a bouncer. He's a handful to say the least. Known as the 'Fizz', he has more trouble communicating with captain Warner than he does unsettling some of the world's top batsman.” Cricket Australia’s article on the Indian Premier League 2016 reports.   

“Mustafizur’s 2-9 against Punjab featured only one run in his first 15 balls and did not concede a single boundary. Pretty impressive for a 20-year-old.” 

At the midway point of the 2016 IPL, Cricket Australia selected the best XI of the tournament so far, and it includes David Warner, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers, Gautam Gambhir, Quinton de Kock, Chris Morris, Mohit Sharma, Mitchell McClenaghan and Amit Mishra besides the latest bowling sensation from Bangladesh.

READ more: Debut wickets of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman

The lanky 20 year old from Satkhira is the vital cog in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling machine, and is the go-to bowler for skipper Warner when the going gets tough, especially at the death. Mustafizur Rahman has taken eight wickets from seven matches in this year’s IPL. His economy rate of 6.53 is the lowest among the top ten wicket-takers, while his strike-rate is 19.50.

Also Read: Language barrier not a problem for Fizz and Warner

Read: Fizz fever in IPL goes viral

Mustafizur took the cricketing world by surprise when he burst onto the scene during India’s tour of Bangladesh in 2015 and took 11 wickets in his first two ODIs to give Tigers their maiden series win over the Men in Blue. He became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to make the ICC ODI Team of the Year.

READ more: Fizz a revelation for BD and SRH: Murali

The Cutter Master has played two Tests and picked up four wickets. In nine ODIs, Fizz has 26 wickets. From 13 T20I matches for Bangladesh, he took 22 wickets.