Former India and Pakistan cricketers claim Mustafizur Rahman is ahead of the rest
Bangladeshi left-arm seamer Musatfizur Rahman has been garnering praise for his brilliant performances for both club and country this year. The lanky left-armer was one of the important figures in Bangladesh reaching the finals of the Asia Cup 2016 against India which they lost. He was also instrumental in Bangladesh giving a fighting performance in the T20 World Cup group stages, although they couldn’t survive a group which consisted New Zealand, India and Australia.
Following his exploits for his nation, Mustafizur has been making it difficult for batsmen to bat peacefully by delivering excellent off-cutters, yorkers and his change of pace while bowling in the IPL this year. His performances for Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad has been nothing but exceptional. Although his IPL season seems to be over after sustaining an injury his performance with the ball has left many bedazzled.
Former cricketer Rameez Raja, who is part of the IPL commentary panel said: "There are quite a lot of them like James Anderson or Steyn, who are very good in Tests. But right now, Mustafizur is the best pacer in limited-overs."
Also Read: IPL 2016: 5 reasons why Sunrisers Hyderabad have performed superbly this season.
Former Indian pacer and current Afghanistan bowling coach, Manoj Prabhakar also had some kind words to add: "There is no doubt that Mustafizur is the best bowler right now. Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga was one who could bowl good yorkers. But right now, Mustafizur is at his peak. He bowls the cutters really fast and has other variations, which he delivers with the same momentum."
Former Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth agreed with Raja and Prabhakar as well, saying: "There aren't too many better than him at the moment. But he needs to perform like this for some more time before we can say he is the best. For now, he looks ahead of the pack."
Mustafizur is not too excited about his newfound fame however and trying his best to keep the praise he is accumulating get to his head “I am just doing what I love. My only aim is to get better.” He has amassed widespread critical acclaim for his skills with many claiming he is surely on his path to greatness.
The Bangladeshi pacer has made life difficult for batsmen in both the limited overs format of ODIs and T20 internationals. Currently boding of an economy rate of 6.74 in 15 IPL games whilst also taking 16 wickets in the process, he has more than lived up to the hype that was built around him coming into the tournament. The wickets that he took have come in very important and crucial times that have changed the course of the game and helped Hyderabad book a place in the IPL playoffs this season.