Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman arrived in Ireland as a genuine cause of concern for his team in the build-up towards the 2019 World Cup. The left-arm fast bowler was having a disappointing run with the ball and didn't start off this tour of UK on a good note either, conceding 82 runs in Tigers' opening game at Clontarf versus the Calypso Kings on Tuesday (May 7).
However, Mustafizur's fortunes turned drastically this Monday (May 13) as he picked up 4/43 against the same opponent and returned with a "Player-of-the-Match" award after two years from Bangladesh's six-wicket win.
"I just wish it does not take so long to receive my next [man of the match] award," he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz after the game. "I am happy that I received the man of the match. I was confident after picking the first wicket and now I am more accustomed to bowling in the slog overs after bowling in the death overs for so long."
"Your confidence will rise if you do well. It is alright that I could not perform in the opening game (against West Indies) but there is a World Cup in the coming days and I am looking forward to performing there on a consistent basis."
Though he remained Bangladesh's best pacer with 41 wickets in 28 games even during this lean patch, Mustafizur admitted teams had begun reading him better and he also failed to adjust to different conditions. "When a new bowler arrives, a lot of people don't know much about him. Now they (opposition) know a lot about my bowling like I do this and that."
"In our country, it is hot while here it is cold. I really struggle in cold. We came here playing in 32 to 33 degrees, while here we are playing at six or seven degrees so naturally, it becomes difficult. Now it is getting warmer," he added.
Several injuries have also tampered the growth of Mustafizur, who first burst into the limelight with few outstanding spells in Bangladesh's first bilateral ODI series win against India almost four years back. He collected three five-fers in his first nine games at the highest level, before going through the knife for a shoulder strain picked up during the 2016 T20 Blast in England. Also, playing mostly abroad after that didn't help the case as well.
"Initially I used to play most of the matches at home but after my injury most of the time I have played abroad. If I was playing at home then probably you can see the old Mustafizur as the ball grips and changes direction on those wickets," he concluded.
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
