Mustafizur Rahman will be available for the Chennai Super Kings till May 1, when the side plays against Punjab Kings
Earlier this week, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) granted Mustafizur Rahman an extended No-Objection Certificate for his stint with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. This extension allowed Mustafizur to participate till CSK’s match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), scheduled to take place on May 1; earlier, his availability for the franchise was till April 30.
Chennai Super Kings’ Mustafizur Rahman bowls during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match(AFP)
Mustafizur will feature in several key matches for CSK, including back-to-back games against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 19 and 23, followed by a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 28, before concluding with the PBKS clash on May 1. After completing his IPL commitments, Mustafizur will return to Bangladesh for the national team’s home T20I series against Zimbabwe from May 3 to 12, followed by an international T20I series against the United States of America in Texas on May 21.
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However, BCB’s cricket operations chairman, Jalal Yunus, has made a rather interesting remark on Mustafizur’s stint in IPL 2024. While talking to reporters on Wednesday, Yunus stated that the Bangladesh pacer has “nothing to learn” in the IPL and also expressed his frustration at the CSK for “taking 100 per cent from him.”
“Mustafizur has nothing to learn from playing in the IPL. Mustafizur’s learning process is over. Rather, there are many players in IPL who can learn from him. Bangladesh will not benefit from this,” Yunus said, as quoted by Daily Star.
“Our concern is Mustafizur’s fitness. They want to take 100 per cent from him. They don’t have a headache about his fitness, but we do. The reason we are bringing back Mustafizur is not just to play in the Zimbabwe series, but if he is brought here, we will plan him with the workload. But that plan won’t happen if he’s in IPL,” Yunus said further.
Mustafizur has been one of the key pacers for the Super Kings in IPL 2024 so far; with 10 wickets in five matches, the Bangladesh pacer is currently third in the Purple Cap leaderboard and also the side’s highest wicket-taker in the competition so far.
CSK meet LSG
The Super Kings will meet Lucknow Super Giants twice over the next six days, meeting them in an away game on Thursday before hosting KL Rahul’s men in Chennai next Tuesday. CSK remain firm at the third spot in the league table, while the Super Giants dropped to the fourth spot following a comprehensive 8-wicket defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders last Sunday.
