Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman is set to undergo two weeks of rehabilitation to overcome the hamstring strain and ankle injuries he suffered during IPL 2016.
This also means his decision to make Sussex debut will be postponed by at least two weeks. The young Bangladeshi was a vital cog in Sun Risers Hyderabad team where they managed to clinch their maiden IPL.
Mustafizur finished the tournament as fifth highest wicket taker and was also awarded the “Emerging player of the tournament” for his absolute brilliance.
He suffered the hamstring strain hours before the Qualifier 2 but was given green signal to play the grand finale where he made the difference between the two sides alongside Bhuvaneswar Kumar.
The 20-year old was signed by Sussex back in March as their second overseas player to play in the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup.
The rehabilitation program started on Thursday under the watchful eyes of Bangladesh’s physiotherapist Bayjidul Islam. It is also learnt that another assessment over Mustafizur’s fitness would be done after eight days while the rehab continues for two weeks.
“We will take a decision on him when we see his improvement,” Bayjidul said. “For the first week I don’t see any possibility of him taking the field. We are working on his hamstring and ankle injuries. He has recovered from the shoulder and side strain.”
Despite taking the international stage by storm, the young Bangladeshi has faced certain setbacks due to injuries over the last few months.
He missed the inaugural Pakistan Super League due to a shoulder injury that he suffered during an T20I against Zimbabwe in February. He played only 3 matches in Asia Cup as a side-strain during the tournament ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Sussex have played three games in the NatWest T20 Blast and are placed second in the South Group points table after winning two games. The team lost their plot in the Royal London One-Day Cup matches as they failed to win neither of the matches, with the next game on June 12 against Middlesex.