Fizz's dip no cause for alarm

Ever since his debut, when he took the world by storm by bowling Bangladesh to a series win over India, Mustafizur Rahman has been a precious commodity in Bangladesh cricket.

His shoulder surgery last August was a cause for real concern among fans and pundits alike, and it was fuelled further when he could not reach top pace during the New Zealand limited-overs leg in December-January, before missing the one-off Test against India.

Concerns were allayed to a large extent by Mustafizur's performance in the Test series in Sri Lanka, especially in the second Test, but they are never too far from the surface as they cropped up again when he conceded runs at more than six an over in the first two ODIs, albeit scalping three wickets in the bargain in the first game. It was a rarity for the left-armer, who had gone above that mark only once before in the 13 matches he has played so far and whose career economy rate is an excellent 4.79.

"He took three wickets," was the reply from head coach Chandika Hathurusingha yesterday when asked about Mustafizur's expensive spells. "I have no problem with him because he played a different role. He didn't open the bowling and we used him later on because we had 300 on the board [in the first ODI]. If the run rate goes above seven or eight then Fizz is always in the game.

"And don't forget that he is coming back after a big injury, on the shoulder of the bowling arm. It will take time, and we have no issue because of the way he bowled in the Test match. Those pitches [in the ODIs] were very good and probably the second wicket didn't suit his type of bowling very much because it was not gripping and there was a bit of a carry."

He also bowled from both sides of the wicket in the second ODI, going for 60 runs in his eight overs for one wicket. It was probably just an off day, but there will be no better way to assure his fans than to put in a definitive performance in the third and final ODI on Saturday.