Minimalist Mustafizur only watches death overs

Mustafizur Rahman is known as a man of few words in the Bangladeshi media circuit, always giving brief, to-the-point answers to elaborate questions from journalists.

His interactions with the media get even more limited when playing in overseas leagues owing to language barrier, evidenced by him not speaking in the post-match presentation ceremony after winning the player-of-the-match award in his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) debut on March 22.

However, in a rare instance, Mustafizur spoke uninterruptedly in a 5:14-minute clip released yesterday on CSK social media platforms.

In the video, the pacer gave insights on his cricketing journey, his ongoing stint with the CSK, and also revealed that similar to his media interactions, he adopts a minimalistic approach in his cricket viewing as well, only watching the death overs action while skipping the rest.

"I've always been less inclined to watch matches, I prefer playing," Mustafizur said in the video, which is part of CSK's video series 'Lions Up Close'.

"I think that it's better for me to watch at that period [death overs]. Even when I watch a Twenty20 match, I only watch the final four overs or so. I try to observe which areas the batsmen are hitting the ball at, how they are playing. Very rarely I watch the entire 40 overs of the match," he added.

Although Mustafizur failed to defend 17 runs in the last over against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Chennai's previous match last Tuesday, he remains the team's most successful bowler thus far this season, with 12 wickets in seven games.

The 28-year-old pacer further revealed that playing for the five-time IPL champions had been his long-cherished dream.

"This is my first season with Chennai. Since I began playing in the IPL in 2016, it has been my dream to play for the Chennai team. After getting the call [from CSK management] that night, I couldn't sleep."

Mustafizur spoke highly of the relaxed atmosphere of the Chennai team and how former CSK captain MS Dhoni, who relinquished captaincy this season, and bowling coach Dwayne Bravo have been sharing their knowledge with him.

"Everyone here is friendly. The environment has been good from day one, I haven't felt uneasy at all. Mahi bhai [Dhoni] showed me some field setups, Bravo spoke to me about how to bowl in the death overs. These inputs have been invaluable."

"We mostly speak about bowling. I haven't really spoken about anything else. We speak sometimes on the field about what to do. Mahi bhai comes to me and tells me that it would be better if I did this."

Mustafizur's IPL stint this year is nearing its end. He will be available for two more matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 28 and May 1, respectively, after which he will return home for Bangladesh's five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe at home, starting on May 3.

There have been debates about whether the board should have extended Mustafizur's NOC, allowing him to play the entire season.

Mustafizur has remained quiet throughout the debate but yesterday he expressed his belief that playing at the IPL is the best possible preparation for any cricketer. "More star players from all countries take part in the IPL compared to other tournaments. I feel that if I can succeed here, it will be easier for me to succeed elsewhere."