The Bangladesh Cricket Board will ensure that left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman returns from the Indian Premier League in the early part of May to get him fresh for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup, which will start in the West Indies and USA on June 1.
The BCB initially issued Mustafiz a No Objection Certificate [NOC] until April 30 to feature for Chennai Super Kings but it was extended by a day so that he could play against Punjab Kings on May 1 and then join the Tigers ahead of the five-match Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe, which begins on May 3.
BCB cricket operations chairman, Jalal Yunus, said on Wednesday that they don鈥檛 want Mustafiz to be exhausted ahead of the global meet, something they experienced during the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman in 2021, where they couldn鈥檛 earn a single victory in the super 12 stage.
鈥楬e is heading to a competition like the World Cup. Before that, he needs to acclimatise to the condition. He has to be fit. We need a fresh Mustafizur Rahman in the World Cup, not an exhausted one,鈥� Jalal told reporters at Mirpur on Wednesday.
Before the 2021 T20 World Cup, Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafiz represented Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, respectively, in the IPL and as a result, they were burned out before playing for the country in the mega event.
Jalal said they were not going to repeat the same mistake this time by letting Mustafiz play the full IPL season ahead of this World Cup.
鈥榃e [BCB] deal with Mustafiz鈥檚 national team affairs; consequently, we can understand that he is unavoidable to us. You know that two of our campaigners featured in IPL 2021, and they got fatigued, which they acknowledged. We don鈥檛 want that to happen again,鈥� he said.
However, given Mustafiz鈥檚 ongoing workload in the IPL, where he has already claimed 10 wickets in just five games after a stunning debut for Chennai, claiming 4-29, his best figures in the tournament, Jalal explained that there were more reasons behind bringing him back rather than just the series against Zimbabwe.
鈥極ur concern is Mustafiz鈥檚 fitness. They [CSK] want to take 100 per cent from him. They don鈥檛 have a headache about his fitness but we do. We are not bringing Mustafiz back just for the Zimbabwe series but we are doing so to plan his workload management. But that won鈥檛 happen if he鈥檚 in IPL,鈥� he said.
鈥楳ustafiz has nothing to learn from playing in IPL. Mustafiz鈥檚 learning process is over. Rather, many players in the IPL can learn from him. Bangladesh will not benefit from this [Mustafiz playing full IPL season].鈥�
Jalal further affirmed that although the Zimbabwe series is knocking at the door, they are taking a little more time to announce the Bangladesh squad as it would be pretty similar to the T20 World Cup team.
鈥楢nnouncing the squad for the series against Zimbabwe means it would be followed by the World Cup squad, which is why it is significant. Therefore, the selectors will announce the team with caution,鈥� he said.