The opportunity is big for me. Coach (Chandika Hathurusingha) and selectors kept me in the team and I want to thank them for that. I hope I will be able to give my best for the team
Pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman could only dream of playing in Bangladesh colours when the Tigers roared into the final of the Asia Cup for the very first time in 2012.
Bangladesh, motivated by a total team effort in the regional competition, performed wonders, reaching the grand finale riding on victories over sub-continent rivals Sri Lanka and India. Mustafiz was only 17 back then and was residing at his uncle’s house as he was attending the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s pace foundation camp at that time.
However, a drastic change in fate saw Mustafiz turn the tables around and register stunning performances in the international cricket arena. It was little wonder therefore, when he was earmarked as one of the key members of the Bangladesh Asia Cup Twenty20 squad.
The event will be Mustafiz’s maiden multi-nation tournament and the Satkhira cricketer is hell-bent on making the best use of the opportunity, heading into the World T20 next month in India.
“The opportunity is big for me. Coach (Chandika Hathurusingha) and selectors kept me in the team and I want to thank them for that. I hope I will be able to give my best for the team,” Mustafiz told the media at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
Last June, Mustafiz made a flying start to his ODI career, against India in a three-match series. The left-arm paceman created a stir, becoming the first bowler in ODI history to pick up 11 wickets in the first two matches.
Given that Bangladesh will take on powerhouse India in the main round opener this Wednesday, expectations are high that the southpaw will repeat his heroics from last year. Mustafiz however, said very little when queried to share his thoughts on the India clash.
“It is good that it (opening match) is against India. But, it is the same thing again. If I get a chance, I will try to do well,” he said.
Termed as the “wonder boy of world cricket”, Mustafiz said he does not have any particular plans for the tournament, rather, “I will do things according to the situation and what my team demand. For now, I just want to play the way I always do.”