Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman trashed the notion of not giving Test cricket much importance, stating that he wants to be a player of all formats of cricket.
He said that he is now working on his fitness and other skills which could give him the assurance of being available in all three formats.
“I want to play all formats of cricket and currently I am working on my fitness and other skills,” Mustafizur said on Monday after the skill session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
“I am trying to do what I need to improve my bowling skill, fitness and others which could be handy to make me regular in all formats of cricket.”
One of the key features to be a good Test bowler is to bring the ball in, which Mustafizur is unable to do throughout his career. Mustafizur’s main weapon is his cutter and slower, with which he brought up success in the shorter version of cricket.
Basically by virtue of his cutter and slower, he made a blockbuster debut in ODI cricket that saw him taking 11 wickets in his first two matches against India. Bangladesh won those two matches thanks to Mustafizur Rahman to win the first ever ODI series against India. Mustafizur also took two wickets in the last match to end his debut ODI series with 13 wickets.
He also showed his class in T20 cricket to make him Bangladesh’s best bowler in ODI and T20 format. But when it comes to Test cricket, Mustafizur is just a shadow of himself as his success in the longer version is rare.
What the experts identified was that he is simply unable to deliver the inswinger properly. Mustafizur knows that and said he works on that particular aspect by the help of bowling coach Ottis Gibson.
“Before the outbreak of coronavirus, Gibson showed me some grips as to how to bring the ball in. I have been still working on that and by the grace of Allah, it is going well. But I know I need to work much to be an expert on doing that,” he remarked.
While he is trying to bring the ball in, he also is working on other aspects of the bowling.
“It’s been one month and five days since I came to Dhaka. Firstly I bowled in short run up-I mean in two or three steps. I have also done this at home. But when I came to Dhaka, I started [bowling] from the beginning. At the start, I was focused on running and gym and then started bowling to batsman with other bowlers. Everything is going fine overall,” he said.
He said at the beginning bowling and fitness session seemed tougher but as the days pass, everything becomes normal.
“Team-wise practice is important. We have done our work at home but that is different. However when I started my work here in the stadium, it seemed tougher but now everything is going well,” he concluded.
