Mustafizur unfazed by BCCI-BCB saga

While his exclusion from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad ahead of the Indian Premier League on the advice of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) turned out to be topic of discussion around the world especially after the Bangladesh Cricket Board decided not to travel to India for the T20 World Cup citing security issues, Mustafizur Rahman seems to be unfazed by the outside noise.

Mustafizur, who is currently playing for Rangpur Riders in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, continued to shine with the ball. Mustafizur quietly led Riders to a thrilling five-run win over Dhaka Capitals at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on January 4 when he produced another death overs master-class conceding only two runs in the 18th over as well as removing Shamim Hossain before defending 10 runs in the final over.

Mustafizur came up with the brilliant bowling display a day after the BCCI instructed KKR to remove him from the squad. Mustafizur now stands to lose out big time from a financial standpoint too given he was purchased for a substantial amount of INR 9.2 Cr - the highest for any player from Bangladesh in IPL Auction history.

"He (Mustafizur) is completely chill. He is not worried at all about all the off-field talk - whether it's BCB, India, BPL or ICC," Mohammad Ashraful, who is guiding Riders as assistant coach in the ongoing BPL, told reporters after their game against Chattogram Royals.

"Right now he is focused on playing for Rangpur Riders and after this whatever assignment comes next, he will focus on that. He is a person of a different level," he said further. Ashraful will also be working with Mustafizur in the national set-up as he is currently the batting coach of Bangladesh.

"If you talk about Mustafizur in the first two matches his performances were a bit below par but especially the way we won the last match against Dhaka was an outstanding victory. And the way Mustafizur bowled those last two overs - I think he is a world champion for this format, that's how important he is," he said.

Mustafizur's national team mate Mohammad Saifuddin, who is representing Dhaka Capitals in the ongoing BPL, echoed the same sentiment portrayed by Ashraful. "We had our last match against Rangpur Riders and after the game we were having dinner together and I called him to sit with me. We thought he would be disappointed but that is hardly the case," Saifuddin told reporters following a practice session. "He was hearing music and seemed to be relaxed like the way he always does."

Mohammad Salahuddin, senior assistant coach of the Bangladesh team, insisted that he is not surprised by Mustafizur's demeanour. "I know him for quite some time and it was no surprise that he took everything on his stride with a smile on his face considering that is his biggest strength," Salahuddin told Cricbuzz.

"You will not see him becoming headlines with his words or emotions," he added.