Mustafizur Rahman (
Bengali: মুস্তাফিজুর রহমান) is a
Bangladeshiinternationalcricketer. A left-arm medium fast bowler, he is recognized for his most prolific 'slower cutters' all over the world.[1][2][3] Born on 6 September 1995, in
Satkhira,
Bangladesh, Mustafiur Rahman's career took off during the
2015 Bangladesh Premier League when he caught the attention of cricket pundits with his ability to bowl accurate cutters and slower deliveries, earning him the nickname "The Fizz."[4] This talent quickly propelled him to international prominence. He plays for
Chennai Super Kings in
IPL and is a left-arm
fast-medium bowler.[5]
Making his debut for the
Bangladesh national team in 2015, Mustafizur Rahman showcased his skills in the limited-overs formats. Mustafizur's international career highlights includes his debut series against
India in 2015, where he became the first player to claim 11 wickets in his first two
one day international matches. This achievement propelled Bangladesh to a historic series victory over India.[6] He has represented his country in numerous international tournaments, including the
ICC Cricket World Cup and the
ICC Champions Trophy, and
Asia Cup.[7][8] In club career he was acquired by
Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 with a fee of $208k, where he won his first
Indian Premier League (IPL) title.[9][10] He was the 5th highest wicket taker throughout the tournament.[11]
Mustafizur began his international career in a twenty overs match against Pakistan on 24 April 2015, where he took the wickets of
Shahid Afridi and
Mohammad Hafeez, two veteran Pakistani
batsmen.[20]
In June 2015,
India toured Bangladesh for one Test and three One Day Internationals. Mustafizur was picked in the ODI squad. In his first match of the series, Mustafizur gave signs of his potential against the strong Indian batting line-up by taking a five-wicket haul off 9.2 overs in the first match.[21][22] Bangladesh won the match and Mustafizur became the tenth
bowler in the history of ODIs to take five wickets on debut.[23][24] In the second ODI, Mustafizur took another six wickets.[25][26] This helped him to earn the record of most wickets of any bowler after two ODIs, surpassing the record previously held by Zimbabwe's
Brian Vitori.[27][28] He completed the last ODI with 2 wickets and made history by taking 13 wickets in a three-match ODI series.[29][30]
The following month, Mustafizur took 5 wickets in three ODIs to help Bangladesh win
the series against South Africa by 2–1.[31] He made his Test debut in the same series versus South Africa where he picked up 4 wickets.[32][33][34][35]
Injury problems
In the month of November,
Bangladesh hosted Zimbabwe for three ODIs and two T20s. Mustafizur played a salient role in the ODI matches, taking a total of 8 wickets.[36] For his performances in 2015, he was named in the World ODI XI by ICC.[37] He was also named in the ODI XI of the year 2015 by ESPNcricinfo and Cricbuzz.[38] He captured his third five-wicket haul in the last game.[39][40] He could not contribute much in the T20 series, though he bowled economically, which resulted both sides sharing a win.[41] The next year in January, Bangladesh again played with Zimbabwe in four T20s. Mustafizur played in the first two matches, which they won. While bowling in the second T20I against Zimbabwe in January 2016, Mustafizur injured his shoulder. Following that, he was dropped from the squad for the first time since debut.[42][43]
During the
Asia Cup held in the next month, he was again sidelined from the team due to his
side strain,[44][45] playing only the first three games.[46][47][48][49] He was able to play against
Australia, India and
New Zealand in the
2016 ICC World Twenty20 held in India in March.[50][51][52] He became the first Bangladeshi bowler to grab five wickets in the history of
T20 World Cup after taking five wickets for 22 runs against New Zealand.[53] He took total of 9 wickets in three matches in the
2016 edition.[54] He was named as 12th man in the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2016 T20 World Cup by the ICC.[55]
Mustafizur was again unable to play all matches when
Bangladesh toured New Zealand during December 2016 and January 2017.[56] He played his first Test match since August 2015 against
Sri Lanka at
Galle in March 2017, taking eight wickets in the series.
In April 2018, he was one of ten cricketers to be awarded a central contract by the
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) ahead of the 2018 season.[57]
On 29 May 2018, Mustafizur was ruled out of an upcoming three-match T20I series against
Afghanistan due to a toe injury.[58]
2019-onwards
In April 2019, he was named in
Bangladesh's squad for the
2019 Cricket World Cup.[59][60] On 5 July 2019, in the match against
Pakistan, Mustafizur took his 100th wicket in ODIs.[61] He finished the tournament as the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh, with twenty dismissals in eight matches.[62] Following the World Cup, the
International Cricket Council (ICC) named Mustafizur as the rising star of the squad.[63]
In February 2016, Mustafizur was drafted by
Sunrisers Hyderabad in the
2016 IPL auction.[70] He took 17 wickets in 16 matches in the tournament[71] where his team won the title.[72] He was named as "Emerging Player of the Tournament",[73] the first overseas player to receive this award.[74]
In March 2016, English side
Sussex announced that they had signed Mustafizur as their second overseas player for the
T20 Blast competition.[82]
He picked up four wickets while giving away 23 runs in his debut match against
Essex.[83] After another match, he faced a shoulder surgery which sidelined him for six months.[84]
Pakistan Super League
Mustafizur was selected by
Lahore Qalandars in the
Pakistan Super League.[85] The
BCB was reluctant to let him play there.[86] However, the issue was resolved when Mustafizur got a shoulder injury in early 2016, thus preventing him from playing in the PSL.[87]
Mustafizur achieved success in the beginning of his international career by bowling
off cutters, a type of bowling which moves away (from the right-hander) off of the pitch.[23][89] Mustafizur stated on a press conference in June 2015 that he first discovered the technique after his fellow cricketer,
Anamul Haque insisted him to bowl a slower delivery.[15][16] According to former Indian cricketer
Maninder Singh, his slower balls are difficult to read.[90]
Personal life
Mustafizur grew up in the small town of
Satkhira in
Khulna, Bangladesh.[19] He is the youngest of Abul Qasem Gazi and Mahmuda Khatun's six children.[91] His father is an enthusiastic fan of cricket.[15] Mustafizur's interest in cricket rose when he started practicing the game 40 kilometres (25 mi)
away from home every morning, with his brother Mokhlesur Rahman. This affected his education as he occasionally missed school to play cricket.[91]
On 15 March 2019, along with several members of the Bangladesh test team, he was moments from entering the Al Noor mosque in
Christchurch, New Zealand when
a terrorist attack began. All members of the team were "deeply affected".[93] Mustafizur went on to get married on 22 March. Mustafizur's brother was hopeful that marriage could help him "overcome the shock" of witnessing the attack in New Zealand.[94]
Records and achievements
The governing body of cricket, the
International Cricket Council, included Mustafizur on the
ICC ODI Team of the Year in 2015, recognizing him as one of the top cricketers of that year.[95] He was the first Bangladeshi cricketer to achieve this and the second to be selected for any
ICC team after
Shakib Al Hasan.[96]
In December 2016, he was named the
ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year, the first Bangladeshi player to win one of the ICC's annual awards.[97] Mustafizur was also included as the 12th man in the
2016 ICC World Twenty20 Men's Team of the Tournament.[98] He won the
ESPNcricinfo Award for the Best T20 performance of the year 2016 for his maiden T20I five-wicket haul against New Zealand during the
World T20.[99]
Mustafizur won the Best Athlete of the Year Award from the Bangladesh Sports Press Association (BSPA) of the year 2015.[100]
On 27 January 2018, Mustafizur took his 50th ODI wicket in a tri-series final against Sri Lanka by bowling
Upul Tharanga, becoming the fastest Bangladeshi bowler to 50 ODI wickets in 27 matches.[103]
Mustafizur again included
ICC ODI Team of the Year 2018. He become the first Bangladeshi cricketer to achieve this twice.
On 5 July 2019, Mustafizur took his 100th ODI wicket in
2019 Cricket World Cup against
Pakistan by bowling
Haris Sohail, becoming the fastest Bangladeshi bowler to reach the milestone in 54 matches. By doing so, he also became the fourth fastest in the World to reach 100 wickets, leaving Australian speedster
Brett Lee behind him. Lee reached the milestone of 100 wickets in 55 matches.[104]
On 18 September 2019, Mustafizur became quickest Bangladeshi, quickest fast bowler and fourth quickest bowler to take 50
T20I wickets.[105][106][107]
On 9 March 2024, in the
third T20I against Sri Lanka, Mustafizur became the third Bangladeshi player to take 300 wickets across all formats of international cricket.[110]