Mustafizur Rahman set to leave for Sussex stint

Mustafizur Rahman had an excellent Asia Cup campaign

Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman is all set to depart Dhaka on July 13 to finally get an opportunity to play for England’s county cricket club Sussex. He is going to be available four matches in the Natwest T20 Blast and also for the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)’s committee chairman Jalal Yunus revealed that Rahman’s medical report was all positive and that he was expecting the United Kingdom (UK) visa shortly. The Sunrisers Hyderabad man was recovering from several injuries to his right leg, sustained during his stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

It was widely believed that the fast bowler would not achieve full fitness before a month as Bangladesh’s strength and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan didn’t five a good prognosis of the injuries that Rahman suffered.

Mark Davis, formerly an offspinner and now the current coach of Sussex, had earlier expressed his disappointment of the uncertain situation that was surrounding Rahman’s availability.

Jalal Yunus told New Age: "Our medical team gave a positive report about his physical condition." He added: "He is doing fine in training at the moment and we expect him to improve. He will leave for England on July 13 subject to the availability of visa."

The Bangladeshi seamer has had an exceptional start to the 2016 year after having highly successful campaigns at the Asia Cup, the 2016 World Cup Twenty20 and the Indian Premier League with Sunrisers Hyderabad, with whom he won the 2016 IPL trophy beating favourites Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Mustafizur had an excellent debut season in the IPL where he took 17 wickets in only 16 games with an extremely impressive economy rate of 6.90. He had such an excellent season despite suffering constant injuries.

The lanky left-armer was not expected to feature in the finals, but he somehow recovered. The fast bowler also received the ‘Emerging Player of the Tournament’ award in the IPL, being the only overseas player to do so.

Rahman is all set to make his debut for Sussex against Hampshire at the Hove on July 15 in the Natwest T20 Blast and is widely expected to represent Sussex for four matches of the competition. He is also available to be selected for four more games in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

His arrival will make things better for the Sussex coach, as he was left frustrated due to his non-availability, which led them to rope in Nuwan Kulsakera and David Weise to replace the Bangladeshi as their overseas player.