Mustafizur Rahman’s participation in the English Twenty20 tournament for Sussex was thrown into doubt last week after Bangladesh officials said they feared the paceman may be suffering from burnout.
The 20-year-old bowling sensation, nicknamed Fizz, returned home to a hero’s welcome after helping Sunrisers Hyderabad win their maiden IPL title with 17 wickets from 16 matches.
Rahman (right) was named emerging player of the tournament, the first foreign cricketer to be bestowed with the honour, after conceding just 6.9 runs per over, the most miserly among those who bowled in at least 10 matches.
He was scheduled to join English county side Sussex this week after signing as their second overseas cricketer in March for the Nat West T20 Blast and the Royal London
One-DayCup. But his participation appeared to hit a stumbling block after the Bangladesh Cricket Board said they would assess his health.
Bangladesh team physio Baizidul Islam said Rahman did not aggravate any of his injuries in the IPL, but the board were worried over his recent workload. “We must consider that he played 19 matches in two months after recovering from injuries,” Islam said.
“So there must be some fatigue. He also developed some problems in his right ankle which is creating a problem for his landing after completing a delivery. He needs some rest to re- move the stress. If he continues like this he may collapse any time.”
Rahman missed two Twenty20 internationals against Zimbabwe in January for a shoulder injury, which also kept him side lined for the Pakistan Super League in the UAE.
He returned home for the Asia Cup but picked up a rib injury during a match against Sri Lanka to miss the final and then four matches in the subsequent World Twenty20 in India.
Fans gave Rahman a warm reception after his successful stint in the IPL made headlines at home.
A deputy minister called him a “national hero” as he and hundreds of fans received him at the airport with a crown of red roses.
