Mustafiz, the great revelation of Bangladesh
The Independent Player of the Year
Md Abu Talha Sarker
Mustafizur Rahman was unarguably the great revelation of Bangladesh cricket in 2015. Even though some outstanding individual performances marked Bangladeshs highly successful year, Mustafizurs performances ranked high amongst them all.
However, mentioning just the performances cannot do justice to his role. While the performances of all the others certainly enriched the team, Mustafizurs inclusion made Bangladesh a side to be reckoned with. He has been instrumental in transforming Bangladesh into a top team from a mere giant killer.
And that is why he is The Independents Player of the Yearwith due respect to the performance of Soumya Sarkar, whose audacious batting at the top made Bangladesh a fearless unit, the fine 206 of Tamim Iqbal, the highest Test innings by a Bangladeshi batsman, and the consecutive centuries of Mahmudullah Riyad on the biggest stage of cricket, the World Cup 2015.
Mustafizurs inclusion gave the team a variation and a genuine match-winning fast bowler, who could make a breakthrough at the beginning of the innings and also at the middle of the innings, when taking wickets is not so easy. His orthodox left-arm fast skills, complemented by his lethal weaponthe off-cutter and slowermade him nearly unplayable.
Hailing from Satkhira, his rise has been very quick. Few players have made it so rapidly to the Bangladeshi cricket team, and his name is part of this easily exhaustible list. Since his debut, he has claimed 26 wickets in nine ODIs, including three five-wicket hauls, the highest for any bowler after nine matches. The left-arm quicks first two ODI performances captured the imagination of the cricket world, as figures of 5-50 on debut were followed by 6-43 in his second match against India, earning him the most wickets for any bowler after two ODIs.
Finishing with 13 wickets, he took the most wickets for anyone in their first three ODIs and single-handedly crippled India in the ODI series in June.
Mustafizurs stellar performances against South Africa and Zimbabwe ensured that his 13 wickets against India was no fluke. His off-cutters and slower deliveries, which had demolished the much-vaunted Indian batting line, gave South Africa and Zimbabwe a nightmare as well. Those two stock deliveries have not been decoded properly as yet.
He is the only cricketer in the world to have won Man-of-the-Match awards in both his debut Test match and ODI. His spells were pivotal in the ODIs against the Proteas. In the Chittagong Test, he took his first three wickets in four balls to derail the South African batting line-up and helped Bangladesh earn a 78-run lead, their biggest first innings lead over the mighty South Africans.
He has also taken four wickets in two Tests, rained out to a draw and six wickets in five T20 Internationals. But what was eye-catching was his impact on the batsmen, who were often clueless against the onslaught of the slim, shy-natured cricketer.
His success was also acknowledged by ICC when he found the place in the ICC ODI team of the year as the first Bangladeshi player. For a cricketer who just made debut six months ago, it was an amazing achievement. Shakib Al Hasan earlier found the place in ICC Test team in 2009.
His talent was apparent from a very young age. While playing in the Khulna Premier League, he was already a member of the Bangladesh U-19 team. After that, he was signed by Abahani Limited, where he played this season, and what a stunning one it was! During his stint in the under-19s, his performance, coupled with the fact that he was a left-arm pacera rarity in Bangladeshearned him a place in the Bangladesh-A team. From there, he was called up for the national team for the only T20 game against Pakistan, where he took two wickets in his four overs while only giving away 20 runs.
And it was just the precursor to the resounding successes. As he has just played only a few games, giving any verdict now would be in the realm of prescience. But it would be safe to say that Bangladesh have found a gem of a cricketer, said Mustafizurs skipper, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.
His inclusion has brought a huge variation to the team. He is a keen learner. Left-arm pacers can be deadly with the correct training and calculated pitching, and Mustafizur has all the ingredients to become one, summed up the captain.
