Second Time Mustafizur Rahman Has Come Back From The IPL With An Injury, Says A Frustrated Courtney Walsh

Courtney Walsh, Bangladesh’s bowling consultant and interim coach, admitted that Mustafizur Rahman’s constant fitness struggles is a ’cause of concern’ for him. The legendary pacer was also quick to point out that for the second year in a row, the left-arm pacer sustained injury after returning from Indian Premier League.

A toe injury forced Mustafizur’s withdrawal from the ongoing three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Dehradun. The injury was initially thought to be minor after he returned from his stint with Mumbai Indians in the IPL. The pacer played a practice game in Mirpur on 26 May. After that, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had given him two days off to recuperate from his niggle. But two days later, Mustafizur complained of pain with subsequent scans revealing a hairline fracture that could sideline him for upto four weeks, much to BCB’s frustration.

“It’s a cause of concern for me. It’s the second time he has come back from the IPL with an injury,” Walsh said.

“We need keep him (Mustafizur) fit and make him stronger because he is young, talented and has everything to offer. We need to get his mind right and get his bowling up to the standards it can be,” he added.

At the same time, Walsh made it clear that he understands the demands modern cricket and its various formats put on a fast bowler. However, it did not stop him from ruing the fact that an exciting pacer is losing the plot.

“But at the end of the day, the player himself got to take responsibility because you are working for two different environments,” he said.

He further expressed his frustration over not being fully aware of the injury’s extent.

“We didn’t know about his injury. That made it more frustrating. Had we known earlier, we could have done something to get him back on the park quicker. He came to play a practice game. The message has been sent to him. He has to communicate through the right channel,” he said.

“For any format of cricket to thrive, fast bowling is important. People would want to go and watch if an exciting fast bowler emerges on the scene. I am also concerned is that we need to have pitches that will help these fast bowlers so that we have that excitement going,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh lost the first T20I by 45 runs on Saturday. Batting first, Afghanistan scored 167 for 8 before bowling out Bangladesh for just 122.