IPL 2016: Why Mustafizur Rahman has been problematic for umpires

Young Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s bowling is not only bothering the batsmen in the Indian Premier League but it’s also causing problems for the match officials. Some of the umpires officiating in this year’s tournament have revealed that the left-arm medium pacers’ excessive movement on the pitch is making it tough to judge leg before decisions. The umpires said that some of the 20-year-old bowler’s deliveries are extremely tough to judge as they don’t get a clear view of the action.

The middle-leg stump has been Mustafizur’s main line of attack which is causing doubt in the minds of the umpires. The officials also said it becomes difficult to judge whether the ball is missing leg stump or not.

A match official spoke about the issue to the Times of India on 12 May. He said, "He has plenty of variations and can move the ball at will. He can also bowl very effective cutters and his general line is either off-side or leg-stump. He isn't a middle-stump bowler."

The Shatkhira-born player has been a revelation since his arrival on the world stage last year. Nicknamed ‘The Fizz', he has been one of the most successful T20 bowlers in the last 12 months or so, and he has already represented Bangladesh in all three international formats.

Even the teammates of the young pacer are struggling to pick his deliveries during the nets sessions. Bangladeshi batsman Anamul Haque Bijoy said that he has been playing Mustafizur for the past couple of years but the young pacer still has all the Bangladeshi batsmen guessing.

Mustafizur made his international debut against Pakistan at Dhaka in a T20I in April 2015 and since then has been an integral part of the Bangladeshi team. He played a very important part in Bangladesh’s famous ODI series victory over India – he was adjudged as the man of the match in two out of the three matches of the series.

The cricketer was acquired by the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad in the auctions last year. In this year’s tournament, he has been one of the top performers for the Hyderabad-based team, having picked up 13 wickets in 11 IPL matches so far at an average of 20.61 with a strike-rate of 18.92. He has bowled with a lot of discipline and has been very economical in the T20 league.

Mustafizur's main strengths are swing and deadly cutters. But the pacer also bowls accurate yorkers at around the 140 km/hr mark, which make him very difficult to play.