Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh left-arm pacer, believes good performance in the Indian Premier League 2021 in UAE when the league resumes will raise his confidence ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup slated in UAE too.
The left-arm pacer seemed quite unplayable in the just-concluded series against Australia, using his variations cleverly, and wants to continue in the same manner in the upcoming series against New Zealand as well as in the remainder IPL.
Mustafizur Rahman Is Confident For The Upcoming Series Against New Zealand, IPL 2021, And T20I World Cup
Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib al Hasan are expected to get a NOC for the now postponed IPL 2021 when it resumes given that England’s tour of Bangladesh has been rescheduled.
Mustafizur said that he is happy with his current form and is looking to carry on with it. “Naturally (I am confident) for the upcoming series against New Zealand, IPL and ICC T20 World Cup because I am in a good rhythm now and hope to carry on with it.
“What I feel is that playing in the IPL helps to perform at the international level because you are playing against the best there and I feel that if you can do well there (IPL) than international cricket, it becomes much easier.”
“World’s best players compete in this tournament and if you are successful, certainly it will raise your confidence. And I am sure that will be the case with me because if I do well in IPL then certainly I will be carrying loads of confidence going into the World Cup,” he said.
Mustafizur Rahman was having a comparatively low phase career-wise before the IPL but seemed to be getting near to his former self during his stint with the Rajasthan Royals, picking up eight wickets in the tournament which came to an abrupt halt due to COVID-19 cases. England’s planned tour of Bangladesh, which was due to take place in September and October 2021, will now take place in March 2023, it has been confirmed.
Mustafizur Rahman had a good season for Rajasthan Royals picking up 8 scalps in 7 games until the IPL 2021 was suspended due to bio bubble breach while Shakib Al Hasan just played 3 games scoring 38 runs and picking 2 scalps and had to wait for his opportunity in the strong Kolkata Knight Riders squad.
Mustafizur Rahman Was Instrumental In Bangladesh’s 4-1 T20I Series Win Against Australia
His IPL performance seemed to have instilled in him some belief, and he is grateful to the Rajasthan Royals coaching staff, especially batting coach Sid Lahiri, for helping him out.
“There was a coach called Sid Lahiri and he helped me a lot in Rajasthan’s camps. In fact, not only him but everyone spoke small good things and it felt very good. Actually, I am always eager to learn and some small advice like what I need to do in certain situations can help me analyze things better when I am in the middle,” he said.
The 25-year-old was instrumental in Bangladesh’s success against Australia in the T20I series at home and seemed to be reaping the benefits of bowling to his strengths – like cutters and slower deliveries.
“It was not a wicket where you can experiment a lot and that is the reason I did not try too many things and just tried to follow the basics,” Mustafizur Rahman said, adding that he was trying to master the back-of-hand slower delivery more accurately after trying it out in the recent past.
“I need to work on my backhand slower (delivery). I have got control on it reasonably but need to sharpen it more,” he said.
Mustafizur Rahman was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the T20Is against Australia. His 7 scalps in 5 games came at an average of a mere 8.57 as he conceded only 60 runs despite bowling 102 balls. His bowling average and an economy rate of 3.53 were the best in the T20I series.