Mustafizur hints at unleashing his off-cutters at ‘dry’ Eden gardens wicket

Sunrisers are due to play the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a day game at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. The defending champions will be searching for their maiden win at this venue as they have lost all four games that they have played here.

Mustafizur Rahman, who recently joined Sunrisers after missing the first two games due to international duty, said that the dry nature of the Eden Gardens wicket might allow him to bowl his off-cutters, which most batsmen fail to pick.

“Cutters depend on wicket. If the strip is dry and it’s a day match, like it is tomorrow, yes there is a chance you will get to see them,” Mustafizur, who is also called “The Fizz”, told reporters on the eve of the match.

“I always try to give my best when I am playing. If I play, I will definitely try and give my best,” the 21-year-old.

Mustafizur had a great IPL debut season last year where he picked 17 wickets in 16 games at an economy rate of under 7. He was a revelation and put his hand up to bowl at crucial junctures which led to the success of SRH.

The left-arm pacer, however, did not enjoy a good return in his first game this season as he went for 34 runs in 2.4 overs in Sunrisers loss to Mumbai Indians by 8 wickets, which was their first defeat this season.

“In the first match, what I wanted did not happen. There was a bit of length problem and I could not bowl in the areas I would have liked to,” the off-cutter specialist said.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has the best bowling attack in the tournament, especially their pace bowlers. Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur himself were responsible for SRH winning their maiden title last year. The wicket at Eden Gardens assists the pace bowlers and there is every chance of them doing well.

“If the wicket is good, definitely we will do well. We have a strong pace bowling unit. Batting is also good.” Mustafizur said.

Recently, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, who is a very revered figure in their cricketing history, called it a day as far as T20 cricket is played. He will continue playing the ODI format which he also captains. Speaking about him, ‘The Fizz’ said, “Not only for me, we all will miss him. when bhai (Mortaza) is around. He is of great support to us. Now he has retired from T20s. One dayers he will play till the time he can.”

Sunrisers haven’t had a great overall record against KKR and thy will be looking to better it in today’s game.