Mustafizur: If not a great cricketer, I want to be remembered as a good human being

Little does Mustafizur realise that he may have already reached there. The introvert, 21-year old, who burst into the international stage in 2015 when India toured Bangladesh, is only the second player to have registered five-fors in his first two ODIs. At 19, the wily left-arm pace bowler with a habit of thriving on off-cutters to earn dividends, and wickets, made giant inroads in the famed Indian batting line-up boasting the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane. It was because of his 5-50 and 6-43 in his first two ODIs that Bangladesh won those games and the three-match series. Only Zimbabwe's Brian Vitori has two five-wicket hauls in his first two ODIs besides Fizz. "I never let success get into my head. You guys keep asking me about being something big, great talent and so on...I am not fazed," said Mustafizur to the Times of India, in the sidelines of the IPL T20 2017 where he is plying his trade for defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad. "If I cannot become a great cricketer, I will at least want to be remembered as a good human being," the soft-spoken, Khulna-born youngster said. In the World T20 last year, Mustafizur exhibited his variation of cutters in the Super 10 match against New Zealand at Eden Gardens, recording magical bowling figures of 5-22. "In this format of the game, you need variations. Every bowler will have his stock ball. But you need to vary your deliveries in order to get success," the off-cutter specialist said. Known as a bowler who has a repertoire of tricks and uses his variations carefully, Mustafizur returned not the same bowler after shoulder surgery last August. He wasn't all that brilliant in New Zealand, where he got just one wicket, and was later given a break, thereby missing the one-off Test match against India in February. "I was not fit for the series," Mustafizur replied when queried whether he missed being part. Many reports have claimed that he was not picked, as opposed to being rested. During Bangladesh's last tour of Sri Lanka, Mustafizur bagged eight scalps in two Tests, six in three ODIs and four in two T20Is. "I am happy with my ODI bowling (against Sri Lanka). What I wanted was not happening and I could not get the ball in the right areas. The length was a problem too. In the last ODI, I was getting back my rhythm I thought, and T20Is was fine I would say," said Mustafizur. Picked in the auction last year by Sunrisers, Mustafizur is in his second season with the franchise. "I don't have any target in mind. I always try to give my best and help my team win at the end of the day," he signed off.