The Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be a learning curve for young pacer Mustafizur Rahman who is set to play outside the country for the first time after his international debut. The fast bowler was acquired by Lahore Qalanders from the gold category in the PSL draft in which his three other senior colleagues—Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim were also drafted in two different teams—Karachi Kings and Peshwar Zalmi.
Mustafizur, who took the world cricket by storm, making a groundbreaking debut against India in June, will have the first hand experience also that how he fares at foreign soil and whether his stock weapon –cutter and slower—works there well.
Since his debut, he claimed 26 wickets in nine ODIs including three five-wicket haul, the highest for any bowlers after nine matches. The left-arm quick’s first two ODI performances have captured the imagination of the cricket world, and it’s little wonder why. Figures of 5-50 on debut were followed by 6-43 in his second match against India, earning him the most wickets of any bowler after two ODIs. Finishing with 13 wickets, he has taken the most wickets of anyone in their first three ODIs, and single-handedly crippled India in the ODI series in June He is the only cricketer in the world to have won Man-of-the-Match awards in his debut Test and ODI. Against South Africa, his spells were pivotal in the ODIs. In the Chittagong Test, he took his first three wickets in four balls, to derail South African batting line up and helped Bangladesh earn a 78-run lead, their biggest first innings lead over the mighty Proteas.
In the recently concluded BPL, though his side Dhaka Dynamites couldn’t make it to final, Mustafizur Rahman was simply outstanding. The way he broke the stump of Chris Gayle in the very first ball he delivered to the world’s most dangerous batsman, was easily the lasting moment of BPL. His economy rate of 5.71 in his 15 Twenty20 matches proved how effective bowler he is in the cricket’s shortest format also.
But all of these successes came at his home soil. Now it’s his time to prove his credential in a condition where he is not used to.
“I think he will spring a surprise in PSL too,” said Athar Ali Khan, who had closely observed the pacer’s rise to the success and spent a huge time  with him during his time with Dhaka Dynamites as manager.
“He has the capability of foxing the batsmen to great deal. He has got the talent and he is a keen learner. All those made him the best in short period.”
“He bowled well in BPL but got little support from the other end. He was very difficult bowler for batsmen. If you followed BPL closely, you would see, no batsmen could take him with utter comfort. His off-cutter and slower wasn’t dealt with properly by anyone. The ball with which he got Chris Gayle was amazing. To me, that was the ball of the tournament,” said Athar, also the former national player.
A renowned commentator Athar said, the flat nature of wicket would suit Mustafizur well and so he has the chance to be successful in PSL.
“PSL will be held in UAE where most of the wickets are spin-friendly and quite dry or flat. Mustafizur particularly finds these types of wickets to his liking. I think he will do something amazing, something magical. Just keep your finger crossed.”
When Athar pinned a high hope on him, the 19-year old Mustafizur just wants to enrich his knowledge. “I want to learn as much as it is possible. The PSL will be a huge learning curve for me. The more I will play, the more I will learn. So it’s a golden opportunity for me and I want to utilize it to the perfect,” he said.