Mustafizur Rahman (born 6 September 1995) is a Bangladeshi international cricketer. He is specialized as a left-arm medium fast bowler. He has taken the most wickets (13) in a debut ODI series. He is the first player to win the ‘Man of the Match’ award on both Test as well as One Day International debuts.
Rahman broke into international cricket against Pakistan in the Twenty20 format on April 2015. Later that year, he played his first One Day International and Test matches against India and South Africa, respectively, where he was highly regarded for setting many records.
Before his international career, Rahman played in the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He also represented Dhaka Dynamites in the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League.
Early life
Mustafizur Rahman grew up in the small town of Shatkhira in Khulna, Bangladesh. He is the youngest of Abul Qasem Gazi and Mahmuda Khatun's six children. Rahman's father is an enthusiastic fan of cricket.His interest in cricket rose when he started practicing the game 40 kilometers away from home every morning, with his brother Mokhlesur Rahman. This affected his education as he occasionally skipped study to play cricket.
Prior to discovering his bowling talents, Rahman played as a batsman with a tennis ball.According to him, he took inspiration from Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir, who is his ido
Youth and domestic career
In 2012, Rahman came to the capital Dhaka to try out for a fast-bowlers camp. Prior to that, scouters first encountered him in an Under-17 tournament in his hometown. He was admitted to the Bangladesh Cricket Board's foundation of fast bowling. Soon he was selected to the Bangladesh Under-19 side for the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in UAE, where he took a total of eight wickets.
Rahman started both his First-class cricket and List-A cricket from 2014, representing Khulna Division and Abahani Limited, respectively. He was picked for Bangladesh A's tour of West Indies.
Rahman's professional Twenty20 career outside international cricket was the Bangladesh Premier League, where he played for Dhaka Dynamites in its 2015 season. There, he took 14 wickets in 10 matches.
Mustafizur was selected by Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League. The BCB was reluctant to let him play there.However, the issue was resolved when Rahman got a shoulder injury in early 2016, thus preventing him from playing in the PSL.
In March 2016, English side Sussex announced that they had signed Rahman as their second overseas player for the T20 Blast competition.
International career
Emergence
Mustafizur began his international career in a twenty overs match against Pakistan on 24 April 2015, where he took the wickets of Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez, two veteran Pakistani batsmen.
In June, India toured Bangladesh for one Test and three One Day Internationals. Rahman was picked in the ODI squad. In his first match of the series, Rahman gave signs of his potential against the strong Indian batting line-up by taking a five-wicket haul off 9.2 overs in the first match.[15][16] Bangladesh won the match and Rahman became the tenth bowler in the history of ODIs to take five wickets on debut. In the second ODI, Rahman took another six wickets. This helped him to earn the record of most wickets of any bowler after two ODIs, surpassing the record previously held by Zimbabwe's Brian Vitori. He completed the last ODI with 2 wickets and made history by taking 13 wickets in a three-match ODI series.
The following month, Rahman took 5 wickets in three ODIs to help Bangladesh win the series against South Africa by 2–1. He made his Test debut in the same series versus South Africa where he picked up 4 wickets. In the same match, he picked up 3 wickets in four balls.
In the month of November, Bangladesh hosted Zimbabwe for three ODIs and two T20s. Rahman played a salient role in the ODI matches, taking a total of 8 wickets. He capturing his third five-wicket haul in the last game. He could not contribute much in the T20 series, which resulted both sides sharing a win.
Injury Problems
The next year in January, Bangladesh again played with Zimbabwe in four T20s. Rahman played in the first two matches, which they won. While bowling in the second game, he injured his shoulder. Following that, he was dropped from the squad for the first time since debut.
Mustafizur made his return in the 2016 Asia Cup held in Bangladesh. He would go on to perform in the first three matches, but was again sidelined from the team due to his side strain.
Playing style
Rahman achieved success in the beginning of his international career by bowling off cutters, a type of bowling which swings the ball away. With this he dismissed many batsman. Rahman stated that he first discovered the technique after his fellow cricketer, Anamul Haque insisted him to bowl a slower delivery.
Persona and disciplinary issues
Rahman was assisted by captain Mashrafe Mortaza to talk on post-match interview twice, and on a press conference once. Normally, he struggles to speak to the media and public.
In his first ODI match, Rahman collided with the Indian batsman MS Dhoni on two occasions while Dhoni was taking runs. The incident cost both men to be fined post-match.
Records and milestones
Mustafizur Rahman became the tenth bowler to take a five-wicket haul on ODI debut. He achieved the records of taking the most wickets (11) as well as the fourth player to be awarded Man of the match in the first two starting ODI matches.
Rahman took 13 wickets in a three-match bilateral ODI series, which is the highest as of 2016. He is the first player to win Man of the Match awards on both Test and ODI debuts.
The governing body of cricket, the International Cricket Council, included Rahman on the ICC ODI Team of the Year in 2015, recognizing him as one of the top cricketers of that year. He is the first Bangladeshi cricketer to achieve this and the second to be selected for any ICC team after Shakib Al Hasan.
International performances
One Day International five-wicket hauls
| Mustafizur Rahman's One Day International five-wicket hauls | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Figures | Match | Against | City/Country | Venue | Year | Result |
| 1 | 5/50 | 1 |  India |  Dhaka, Bangladesh | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium | 2015 | Won |
| 2 | 6/43 | 2 | India | Dhaka, Bangladesh | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium | 2015 | Won |
| 3 | 5/34 | 9 |  Zimbabwe | Dhaka, Bangladesh | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium | 2015 | Won |
Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls
| Mustafizur Rahman's Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Figures | Match | Against | City/Country | Venue | Year | Result |
| 1 | 5/22 | 13 |  New Zealand | Kolkata, India | Eden Gardens | 2016 | Lost |
International awards
Test cricket
Man of the match awards
| S No | Series | Season | Match performance | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st Test – South Africa in Bangladesh Test Series | 2015 | 1st Innings: 17.4–6–37–4 ; 3 (13 balls: 0×4, 0×6) 2nd Innings: 5–0–21–0 ; DNB | Match drawn. |
One-Day International cricket
Man of the match awards
| S No | Opponent | Venue | Date | Match performance | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka | 18 June 2015 | 0* (0), 9.2–1–50–5 | Bangladesh won by 79 runs. |
| 2 | India | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka | 21 June 2015 | 10–0–43–6 ; DNB | Bangladesh won by 6 wickets (D/L). |
Man of the series awards
| # | Series | Season | Series performance | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India in Bangladesh | 2015 | 13 wickets with 2 five-wicket hauls. avg. 11.53 9 runs. with avg. 9.00 ; 1 ct. (3 Matches) | Bangladesh Won the series 2–1. |
