IPL 2020: BCB gives Mustafizur Rahman full freedom to be part of the auction

Bangladesh medium-pace tyro Mustafizur Rahman is making waves in the game of cricket. He neither swings the ball much nor has a snorting bouncer but he has his own weapon that comes in the shape of a mystery bowling variation. The modern-day batsmen find it hard to pick his lengths. They even fell prey to Mustafizur’s bowling more often than not.

The young bowling sensation stole the spotlight during India’s tour of Bangladesh (June 2015) when he became only the second bowler in ODI history after Zimbabwe’s Brian Vitori to bag two five-wicket hauls in his first two matches. In fact, he is the only bowler to account for 11 scalps in his first two games.

Only in his 3rd ODI against India, he took 2 wickets and scripted history by taking 13 wickets in a 3-match ODI series. In the wake of his sterling performance, he was drafted by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2016 IPL season.

He was the star performer for the franchise as he took 17 wickets in 16 matches helping his team win the title. All his hard work bore fruit as he was named as “Emerging Player of the Tournament” and in fact, the first overseas player to receive this award. In January 2018, he was roped in by the Mumbai Indians in the 2018 IPL auction where he picked seven wickets in seven matches. However, he didn’t play the next season after he picked a hairline fracture while playing for Mumbai Indians.

IPL 2020 auction scheduled to take place on December 19

In the latest development, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have granted left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman full freedom to join the list of players set to be auctioned for IPL 2020 on December 19. This is seen as a massive boost for Rahman who will be vying to gain confidence before the Word T20 next year in Australia. Previously, BCB didn’t risk their players in IPL 2019 due to fitness concerns.

Now that he has been given a green signal by BCB, he will join the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mehidy Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah and Taskin Ahmed who have inked their names for this month’s auction in Kolkata.

While addressing the media reporters at the press conference, BCB cricket operation chairman Akram Khan said: “At that point [During his injury] we did not allow him to make him available for franchise-based cricket largely due to his injury. Now he is looking more settled and he is playing for quite some time [without picking up any serious injury].”

“He played in the National Cricket League [first-class competition] and took part in the tour of India. If he can manage things properly then there is very little chance of picking up an injury. To be honest we are concerned with his form because he is a very important bowler for us. If he gets a chance to play in the IPL and if he can regain his form by playing there then it would be extremely helpful for us.”

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