The million dollar question in everybody’s mind is will Mustafiz be able to handle the burden of name and fame.The 20-year lad from Satkhira, Mustafizur Rahman has taken the Cricketing World by storm since his debut a year with his devastating bowling in both ODI and T20. He also played two Test matches to claim 4 wickets. Mustafiz dubbed by foreign media as Fizz, returned home last week to a hero’s welcome after helping Sunrisers Hyderabad win their maiden Indian Premier League title with 17 wickets from 16 matches.It was not a surprise when the left arm pacer Fizz won the emerging player of the tournament with a trophy and a cash of one million rupee. He broke the jinx to become the first foreign player to earn this coveted honour, conceding just 6.9 runs per over, the most miserly among those who bowled in at least 10 matches.On his arrival deputy sports Minister Arif Khan declared him as ‘national hero’. All Media whether print or electronics have gone haywire since his return home from Hyderabad. He is scheduled to join English County side Sussex next week after signing as their second overseas cricketer in March for the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup.But now Mustafiz is seen from suffering minor injury and home sick fatigue and the burden of too much exposure is taking his toll. Mustafiz, is usually a shy character who runs away from the camera and does not want to talk live, whereas both print and electronic media have not allow him an inch of breathing space as they clamor down to take his interview. Now the main question is in everybody’s mind are we pressing too much. Will this boy will be able to handle the pressure of stardom stumble to him in express way. Former National player Ishtiaq Ahmed believes he should be allowed some breathing space. He should be given time to adjust to stardom. “We should not rush at him; give him time to take things at a time. Let us leave him to decide his own future instead of setting it. Most of the local cricket pundits believe that if he is fit, he should go to England and play for Sussex, since Bangladesh is going to play next year in Champions Trophy. He will have a perfect grooming, bowling in the English conditions and also develop the art of swing, which is still to be added to his rich haul of armour.Mustfiz is the centre of attraction for the Sports Media and Espnstar, cricketing website, who paid rich tributes to Fizz giving details about his feat done so far in a year old career.Mustafizur’s IPL campaign – 17 wickets at 24.76 – went as his Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza predicted. Perhaps even better, considering the 20-year old left-arm quick and his team Sunrisers Hyderabad emerged champions. “I said it in interviews before the IPL, even as far back as November last year, that he [Mustafizur] would trouble all the batsmen in the world,” Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo. “From the way he troubled top international batsmen in 2015, I knew that those in the IPL would have a tough time taking him on. And as you have seen, it wasn’t easy for anyone. “From what I have seen of him in the tournament, Mustafizur has used the yorker quite well. It came in handy for him to keep the run-rate down. Batsmen know that he is all about the cutter, which makes them think of him differently. So he has improved a lot, and with more experience he will do better.” Mustafizur’s economy rate of 6.90 was the best in the IPL, under condition of 120 balls bowled. He was named the Emerging Player of the Season, but he was already a vital cog for Bangladesh in limited-overs cricket, having helped them to series wins over Pakistan, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2015. Mustafizur has never spoken about what kind of ball he prefers – red or white, new or old. He has opened the bowling in all of his 14 first-class matches and nine ODIs but the bulk of his wickets have come in late spells. Considering only three days’ cricket were possible in his debut Test series, Mustafizur could bowl no more than 22.4 overs across two innings. Three of his four wickets – Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock – came with the old ball. Similarly in ODIs, 18 of his 26 wickets have come after he has bowled five overs in a match. His captains – Mashrafe and Mushfiqur Rahim for Bangladesh, Kumar Sangakkara for Dhaka Dynamites in the BPL, and David Warner in the IPL – preferred to use him in the slog overs. Mustafizur is expected to be critical to Bangladesh’s ODI plans, especially in the 2017 Champions Trophy, and for ensuring automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. So it won’t be surprising if he is given time off from Test cricket. Mustafizur is contracted to play limited-overs cricket for Sussex in the English county season. The BCB hasn’t decided when they will send Mustafizur, and the man himself is not keen on another stint outside his beloved Tetulia village in southwest Bangladesh. Coaches and former cricketers believe he should go to UK because playing in different environments would help him grow as a player. The Bangladesh management, however, is worried about overexposure. Participating in domestic tournaments around the world could lead to batsmen figuring out the mystery of his cutters, and possibly result in him becoming a diminished force for his country. In the IPL final, Virat Kohli was able to take him on by stepping out of his crease or making room to the leg side. But Mustafizur is said to have a beautiful cricketing brain and he is a tremendous competitor. As he showed in the IPL, his yorkers beat batsmen who may have thought the only threat he posed was with the slower ball. Mustafizur has generated a lot of interest in Bangladesh, and around the world. Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful had done the same during their careers, and at times had been handled poorly. It is important that the team management and the BCB do better considering Mustafizur’s temperament. He is still a shy, small-town boy and he should be given special help handling off-field issues. Mustafizur is a rare bowler. Fitness and form withstanding, he will stoke the club v country debate regularly in the coming years. He will need to be guided properly, given the right signals, and then the freedom to express his own destiny.
