Bubble-fatigued Mustafizur lacks confidence

Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman clearly lacks confidence ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting from 23 May in Dhaka, reports UNB.

Mustafizur joined the team bio-bubble on Monday, but took the ball on Wednesday as the first day of practice camp was hit by the rain on Tuesday.

While talking to the media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mustafizur expressed his concern over doing well after spending a lot of time in quarantine.

He played his last game for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on 2 May. Since then, he had been in bio-bubble in India and Bangladesh along with the all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who also played the in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders.

“I was in quarantine in India and Bangladesh for days,” Mustafizur said. “I just played one game this month. We only have two more days of practice before the series starts. Now everything depends on God.”

The left-arm pacer was unwilling to rush with his bowling on Wednesday as he just came out of the in-room quarantine. He only did some fitness work while being in the hotel.

“Bio-bubble is tough,” Mustafizur added. “It’s tough and not only for me but for all players. I have just joined the practice camp and took the ball today (19 May). It may cause pain in my hand (if I bowl much on the first day).”

Mustafizur did well for the Royals in India. He bagged eight wickets in seven games. Had not the Rajasthan fielders missed a few catches off his bowling, he might have taken more scalps.

The pacer believes that it won’t be tough for them to do well against the Sri Lankans. According to him, both teams are equal in the 50-over format though Sri Lankans have more reliance on the young players.

Bangladesh are set to miss the service of Rubel Hossain in this series as the right-hander has been suffering from a back injury since the New Zealand series earlier this year.

In the absence of Rubel, the onus will be on Mustafizur to lead the pace-bowling attack in this series. He will be accompanied by Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Mohamad Saifuddin. However, the final squad for the series is yet to be announced.

The Tigers are set to play an intra-squad 50-over game on 20 May at BKSP, Savar. The final squad is expected to be announced after this game.

The first match of the series will take place on 23 May and the remaining matches will be played on 25 and 28 May respectively. All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.