Bangladesh speedster Shoriful Islam said that Mustafizur Rahman enjoys playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) more than playing for Bangladesh. The 28-year-old Mustafizur is currently with the Chennai team in the IPL where he is plying his trade under the legendary MS Dhoni. However, he can only play 3 more games for the defending champions before returning to Bangladesh.
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The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) gave Mustafizur a No Objection Certificate (NOC) until May 1 after which he will play for the national team in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, starting May 3. Shoriful also said that playing for Bangladesh comes with a lot of expectations while there is not as much pressure as donning the CSK colours.
‘Mustafizur is performing regularly’
“I watch every game and every ball Mustafizur bowls. I talk to him the day after the matches,” Shoriful was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“I think he [Mustafizur] enjoys playing in the IPL more than playing for the Bangladesh team. It is because the pressure is less there. Perhaps, there are a lot of expectations when playing for Bangladesh and you come under immense pressure if you don’t play well,” he said.
“He (Mustafizur) is performing regularly. It is just that he has been unable to perform in the last two or three games (for the national team). What I mean by pressure is that everyone’s expectations are quite high because of his performance over the last couple of years. Perhaps he couldn’t meet the expectations in the last one or two games,” Mustafizur added.
Mustafizur hasn’t let the CSK down by any means as he is amongst the leading wicket-takers in the tournament. In 6 matches, the left-arm pacer has taken 11 wickets at an economy rate of 9.41 with a four-wicket against RCB at the Chepauk to show for his efforts.