After his debut in the national team, Mustafizur Rahman became the main hope of Bangladesh’s pace attack. He served successfully for a long time. However, the left-handed pacer has been suffering from a lack of form for quite some time. That’s why there are questions about his place on the team. However, Rangana Herath does not see anything bad about his bowling. Rather, the spin coach of Bangladesh spoke of his satisfaction with Mustafiz, who did the most difficult work for the team.

Before the third ODI against England, Bangladesh held an optional practice on Sunday morning at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. In between, Mustafiz was seen doing extra work with Allan Donald. The pace bowling coach closely observed the spot bowling of the left-arm pacer. Later, the two sat on the field and talked for a long time.

Mustafiz has taken 11 wickets in the last 15 ODIs. He had to bowl more than 62 deliveries for every wicket. If Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are excluded as opponents, it is only 5 wickets in 11 matches. He was wicketless in two matches against India. He did not get a wicket in three of the last five matches.

Mustafiz worked separately with Donald because of such indolence in wicket hunting. After the second ODI against England, questions arose about his place in the team. Then Tamim Iqbal stood as a shield in front of the left-arm pacer. The Bangladesh captain said that even if Mustafiz did not get a wicket, he is doing a good job of preventing runs.

The same topic came before the third match. When asked about his effectiveness of him in the press conference, Herath highlighted the role of the left-arm pacer in the team. “One thing we need to see is that Mustafiz bowls early, in the middle overs and also in the last overs. So in this case we can’t expect many wickets from him as well as stopping runs.”

“Mustafiz is doing the toughest job on the team as a bowler. We need to understand these things. I am happy with him. But there is definitely room for improvement as a bowler, batsman, or all-rounder. We will work on those.” Mustafiz bowled the first over twice in the last 5 ODIs. He came to bowl in the third over in one match. Tamim attacked him for the first time in the 23rd over in the first match of the current series. In the next match, the left-arm pacer spun for the first time in the tenth over.

Bangladesh played with an unchanged eleven in the first two matches. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafiz were pacers along with three spinners Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, and Mehidy Hasan. Before the third match, the question arises, whether Bangladesh will think of taking someone from Hasan Mahmud and Ebadot Hossain, leaving out Mustafiz, who is wicketless in two matches. Without giving a direct answer, Herath hinted at the possibility. “Whenever possible we will try to give someone younger or others in the squad a chance.”