Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman to miss IPL 2019
Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman was released by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League trade window. It was expected that the player would be available for the upcoming IPL 2019 auction to be held in Jaipur on December 18. But Fizz has suffered a blow. Bangladesh Cricket Board has refused to give him a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Here's more.
Fizz absent in IPL auction list
A total of eight Bangladeshi players feature in a list in the upcoming IPL 2019 auction. Shakib Al Hasan is the only Bangladeshi player to be retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Mustafizur's name in the auction list is missing. The eight players handed NOC by BCB are, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Abu Hider, Liton Das and Nayeem Hasan.
Fitness concerns the reason behind move
This decision to not give Fizz a NOC is prompted by fitness concerns. With the ICC World Cup 2019 starting in May end, the BCB do not want to take any risk. The injury-prone bowler missed the two-match Test series against West Indies away from home earlier. He was ruled out due to a toe injury he picked up in IPL 2018
BCB had taken this decision back in June
The BCB was livid that injuries picked up by the left-arm pacer in global T20 leagues were preventing him from representing Bangladesh on a regular basis. Mustafizur, who represented Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018, also missed the T20I series against Afghanistan, where Bangladesh were decimated 3-0. According to a report in Cricbuzz, the BCB took this decision back in June 2018.
Mustafizur's history of injuries in T20 leagues
The young fast bowler picked up a shoulder injury while playing in the T20 Blast in England very early in his career. Rahman also missed out on a few initial games in the 2017 edition of the BPL after sustaining a grade-two lateral ankle injury while warming up for a football drill on a tour of South Africa.
Our view: Is the decision a right one?
The BCB needed to address the issue and forbidding Mustafizur has sent a message to the rest, that country comes before leagues. They also do not want to take any chances keeping the World Cup in mind. The decision is in the right direction.
