Mustafizur Rahman hoping his off-cutters come good in the semi-finals

It has been a woeful season for the left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman post the stardom that he received in the last season. The left-arm seamer’s performance was instrumental in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s IPL win, with the bowler finishing as the second highest wicket-taker in the team.

Mustafizur is hoping to brush off the woeful period that he had during the 2-month stint with both the Bangladesh team and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The left-armer’s off-cutter has been rather very ineffective in England during the Champions Trophy 2017. He is hoping for them to work when the Tigers’ take on the defending champions in the second semi-final.

According to the Daily Star, a Bangladesh daily said that he was ruffled by the fact that the conditions aided the pace bowlers, neither with swing nor with the off-cutters. The left-arm seamer made his debut against the same opposition, two years ago where he picked up five wickets in consecutive games.

Solitary wicket

In the tournament thus far, the left-armer has only picked up a solitary wicket and has been rather ineffective in the games that he has played with the team struggling to pick up wickets. The Bangladeshi players either went shopping in their off-time while the other players hit the gym to keep themselves fit ahead of the crucial semi-final game against the favourites India.

For the others, there was an optional day for practice, with only a few bowlers turning up for the optional practice. The team led by Mashrafe Mortaza is currently basking the glory after qualifying second in the Group A, with the likes of Australia and New Zealand getting knocked out from the competition. The Tigers’ defeated New Zealand by five wickets to reach the semi-final stage of the tournament.