Mustafizur Rahman doubtful for Christchurch ODI

Bangladesh bowling spearhead Mustafizur Rahman is a doubtful starter for the first ODI of Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand. The first ODI is scheduled to be played on the Boxing Day at Christchurch. When the team had received the boost with the inclusion of Rahman in the squad, they had the impetus going into the series. However, as per reports in the Daily Star, Mustafizur is not feeling a hundred percent fit for the series opener.

He underwent a shoulder surgery earlier this year, July 22 to be precise. He subsequently missed out on the home series against England and also the Bangladesh Premier League. His stint at the Natwest T20 blast was also cut short due to this injury. He was expected to make his comeback to international cricket with the New Zealand series, but with the turn of events, it seems that the fans might have to wait a little longer.

The young 21-year-old bowling sensation played a warm-up match in Auckland and was successful too. However, he had his issues while fielding. As admitted by the man himself, he quoted that the soreness is not in his shoulder but his side. This is not making him very comfortable in throwing from the deep.

“I’m still feeling slight pain. But it’s not in my shoulder. It’s in my side. The physio said it will be there [for a while], but it’s not on my shoulder. My throwing is not good at the moment. It will gradually improve,” DailyStar quoted Mustafizur.

However, a very modest Mustafizur added that he will play the match if the captain and the coach wants him to play. He quoted, “If the coach and captain want, I will play.” he was recently named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year.

He was the most successful bowler for his team in the World T20 earlier this year. In the IPL too, he was influential for the eventual winners Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Bangladeshi camp has one day to decide whether or not they want to field Mustafizur in the starting eleven of the Christchurch ODI.