Mustafizur Rahman to cut short IPL 2017 stint to begin preparations for Champions Trophy
Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Mustafizur Rehman is all set to leave the defending-champions and fly back to Bangladesh on April 25th as he begins his preparations for Bangladesh's upcoming Champions Trophy campaign with a preparatory camp in Sussex. Rehman has played only 1 game in the IPL this season.
Mustafizur made a delayed entry into IPL 2017, as the Bangladesh cricket board wanted him to recover well from a hard-fought series against Sri Lanka. Thus, the Sunrisers could avail of his services only after the initial few games and the Bangladeshi has played only one game in IPL 2017 so far, against the Mumbai Indians wherein he ended with figures of none for 34 in 2 overs. Last season, however. Rehman was instrumental in leading the Sunrisers to the title as he picked up 16 wickets from 17 games at an economy rate of 6.90 and he made a name for himself using his change of pace effectively against some of the best players in the world.
The Sunrisers next take on the Rising Pune Supergiant at the MCA stadium in Pune tomorrow, after which, they will fly to Bangalore to play the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 25th, which is also the date of Mustafizur’s departure.
And with the current circumstances, ‘The Fizz’ is unlikely to play a part in the game against Pune, as the current SRH bowling unit is doing a decent job. More importantly, SRH have found able replacements in the form of Siddarth Kaul, who has twice won matches for his side, with his tight bowling in the death overs. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also one of the leading wicket takers in the tournament so far.
Bangladesh begins their Champions Trophy campaign against host England on June 1st, before taking on Australia and New Zealand on June 5 and June 9 respectively.