'Mustafiz can be as successful in Tests'

Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman returned to Dhaka yesterday, where he will be looking to add a few more illustrious scalps to his growing collection during the second Test against South Africa. PHOTO: STAR

Three wickets in an over, a player-of-the-match award on debut -- the first person to get the award on both Test and ODI debut -- and the best bowling figures by a Bangladesh pacer in the last two years; there were quite a few feats that Mustafizur Rahman achieved in his first Test.

While the 19-year-old has just stepped ashore and has a long way to go, the team management and the selectors are already excited with what they have seen.

"Mustafizur is a really good prospect for the future of Test cricket. The best thing about him is that his action is very smooth and that makes it unlikely for him to suffer from injuries frequently.

"But then again, his future will depend on how well he is managed. You can't say for sure whether a bowler is going to get injured or not, but if our management handles his workload properly he can work wonders and I am sure they will," BCB chief selector Faruque Ahmed told The Daily Star.

"We weren't nervous before selecting him for the Test squad. Our pace bowling attack in the longer format years hasn't been that promising in the last few.

"So in a way, we were pushed to take Mustafizur into the side because we wanted to do well against South Africa. Yes, it would have been good had we given him more time and taken him later, but we had to select him considering the circumstances," added Faruque.

Bangladesh's pace bowling coach Heath Streak was impressed with the way the left-armer learnt to adapt to various situations in the first Test.

Mustafizur didn't have the best of starts in the Test and he went wicket-less in his first two spells on day one. It was an aspect that the left-armer admitted in the post-day press conference.

He later revealed that his discussion with Streak during lunch helped him bowl better in his third spell.

"We briefly discussed about the wicket and changed a little bit of our tactics in terms of the batsmen we were talking about it," Streak later told The Daily Star.

"If we can look after him, he has definitely got a very bright future in Test cricket. Someone like him, who has such exceptional wrist movement, is a prized asset in this form of the game.

"He is a left-arm pacer and bowls at nearly 140kph. If Bangladesh want to compete in Tests in the world arena, we have to take care of him properly," added the Zimbabwean.

Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim described Mustafizur as a quick learner of the game during the post-match press conference on Saturday. But he also warned against expecting too much from the bowler.

"If he bowls consistently then he will be as successful in Test cricket as in the ODIs. But you can't expect him to take five-fors in every Test. I believe that he can at least maintain a good average and a good strike-rate," Mushfiqur had said.

While there's plenty of excitement in the air, Mustafizur and the team management will be the first ones to admit that the journey has just begun. As the number of Tests increase, so will the obstacles. And it was an aspect that South Africa skipper Hashim Amla reminded everyone during the post-match press conference.

"I think he bowled pretty well. He picked up a couple of wicket as well. Test cricket is a format that takes time to get used to. And it's very difficult to make an assessment too early in somebody's career, whether they are a batsman or a bowler. So I am sure time will tell as to how well he does in one-dayers as well as in the longer format."