Published: Jul 22, 2016, 12:02 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 22, 2016, 12:03 PM (IST)
He is the apple of Bangladesh’s eye! Yes, we are talking about the young pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman, who comes from the small yet densely populated cricket-crazy nation. He has been his country’s hero ever since he broke on to the scene with 11 wickets in his first two career ODIs against a strong team India. Since then, he has achieved remarkable feats for his country. ALSO READ: Mohammad Irfan clears Mustafizur Rahman’s ‘misconception’ about his shoe size.
Earlier this year, he made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the eventual champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), for whom he picked 17 wickets in the season and became Emerging Player of the tournament; first from a foreign country. After his success at the international level, everybody wanted a piece of the mystery pacer, and English County side Sussex were no different. ALSO SEE: Flying bat, bad luck and a wicket denied.
The County heavyweights signed Mustafizur for the Natwest T20 Blast earlier this year, but his arrival in the country was delayed first by burnout caused by a busy season followed by IPL, and later due to visa issues. But as they say, better late than never, and the pacer did exactly the same. He made amends for his late arrival by picking four wickets on his debut in less than 24 hours after arriving in England.
Fizz’s scalps included Essex skipper Ravi Bopara, Ryan ten Doeschate, James Foster and Callum Taylor. His returns of 4 for 23 helped his side win the contest by 24 runs and earned him Player of the Match award besides rich praises from his skipper Luke Wright, who said about him: “He got a flight yesterday so he’s come straight in and bowled like that. We have a very special talent on our hands.”
Watch Mustafizur’s four wickets here:
