As the 2016 IPL Auctions went underway on Saturday, one of the eye grabbing players, on whom the franchises had set their sights on, was Bangladesh‘s new medium-fast bowler, Mustafizur Rahman. Mustafizur, who destroyed India in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series in July 2015, grabbed quite a few eyeballs, and has since been a favourite for most of the T20 franchise in the world. After being grabbed by IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL Auctions on Saturday, he got a further boost of his reputation, that is indeed going to boost his confidence as well. However, the BCB would be concious of not using him more than enough as it would lead him to get his weakness being spotted, as earlier, BCB ruled him out from participating in the ongoing inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Currently, he would be leaving for Chittagong to attend a national camp for the upcoming Asia Cup T20 2016 and ICC World T20 2016, slated to be held in February and March, respectively. However, before leaving for the camp, he apared some time out for a short interview with the Times of India, where he politely said, “I wasn’t really desperate for an IPL contract. Honestly, I didn’t have too many expectations. But since I had done well against India, I thought there could be people who would be interested in me.”
On being asked about how it feels to be the only second Bangladeshi player in the league after their star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, he said, “I understand that people in my country have big expectations from me. IPL will be a good exposure from me. I have learnt a few things in my first year of international cricket. It will be a good place to test my skills. It will be a good experience playing in front of Indian crowds now and with some of the best players in the world.”
Speaking on how his life changed following his breakthorugh in the opening year in international cricket, he said, “Certainly, life is a bit different now. Cricket-wise, I have worked on my fitness and strength and I am looking to increase my pace. I don’t rely too much on swing. The variations that I have should be enough.”
“I haven’t added any more variation. I am working on the ones I have. I practise the yorkers. (Lasith) Malinga bowls a slower yorker, maybe I can work on it a bit later. For now, the priority is to do well for my country in the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20. Even with the red ball in Test cricket, I think I can do well with my cutters and other variations,” he added.
Finally, on being askes on he he considered as the role-model for his fast-bowling technique, he said, “I like watching Mohammad Amir bowl. He is fascinating. I did speak to him about bowling when he came here to play in the Bangladesh Premier League but not much. There was very little time players had to interact between matches.”
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