Mustafizur Rahman barred from playing overseas T20 leagues for two years
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman is unlikely to participate in overseas T20 leagues during the next two years. In order to preserve the injury-prone seamer for national duty, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have already denied permission for him to play in franchise-based T20 tournaments across the globe.
BCB President Nazmul Hassan revealed, "I have told him (Mustafizur) that he will not be available abroad (for T20 franchise tournaments) for the next two years. It cannot go on like this. He will pick up injuries while playing in the franchise league and won't be available to perform national duty."
He added: "It's just not acceptable. It cannot go on that he (Mustafizur) will be undergoing rehabilitation to recover from injuries under the care of the board, join those leagues again only to have a similar fortune."
Since making his international debut in 2015, Mustafizur has already accumulated an unenviable history of various injuries. Whilst playing for Sussex in the 2016 Natwest T20 Blast, he picked up a shoulder injury and was forced to undergo a recuperative surgery. An ankle injury kept him out of the 3-match ODI series on South African soil in 2017.
Having been acquired by Mumbai Indians for INR 2.2 crores in the 2018 IPL Auction, Mustafizur played seven matches before suffering a hairline fracture on his toe. After missing the latter part of the tournament, he ran into trouble with the BCB.
Eager to embark with the rest of the Bangladesh squad for the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan at Dehradun, Mustafizur initially did not completely reveal the extent of his toe injury. However, he later complained of pain. With scans disclosing the hairline fracture, the left-arm seamer was pulled out of the squad.
Owing to his travails with injury, Mustafizur has not played for Bangladesh since the final of the 2018 Nidahas Trophy. With the team suffering chastening defeats in the away Test series in West Indies, the team management are understood to be unhappy at their premier bowler's history of fitness issues.
Nazmul Hassan also ruminated, "Mustafiz doesn't want to play Tests. He doesn't say that he won't play Test matches but he tries to avoid it. It is maybe because he often gets injured and he may feel he probably would get injured again while playing Tests."
Aside from the IPL and Natwest T20 Blast, Mustafizur has also had a stint with Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League. It remains to be seen how he reacts to BCB's decision to bar him from all overseas T20 leagues for the next couple of years. The 22-year old is currently in West Indies wherein he is a part of Bangladesh's squad for the 3-match ODI series.