Fizz does not lack commitment when playing for Bangladesh: Shanto 

Bangladesh's all-format skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto vouched for his star bowler Mustafizur Rahman, saying that the left-arm pacer has 'no shortage of commitment' when he plays for the Tigers.  

Questions arose about Mustafizur's level of commitment to the national team largely owing to the stark difference in performances between national duties and franchise commitments. 

"When Mustafizur plays for Bangladesh, he is more invested. Of course, he has a commitment there [Indian Premier League] but that is a foreign league," Shanto told reporters after his Dhaka Premier League match against Prime Bank yesterday.

The Fizz set the Indian Premier League alight with the Chennai Super Kings when he picked up four wickets in the tournament opener against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru helping the five-time IPL winners off to a winning start. He has scalped 10 wickets in five matches so far and will get four more games to add to his tally before coming back home for the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe starting on May 3 in Chattogram.

"When he plays for Bangladesh, he thinks about helping the team with every delivery he bowls. I can back it up as I've seen him do that [show full commitment] when I was captain. There is no shortage of commitment. He is not relaxed with the thought that he is playing for Bangladesh," Shanto added.

The fact that Mustafizur has been able to deliver on his skillset, carry out team plans, and bowl according to the field  which are aspects that he has not been able to carry out as effectively while playing for the national team in recent years has left many questioning what holds him back when playing for the Tigers.

The 28-year-old has also not been an automatic choice for the Tigers in white-ball games in recent series and on at least a couple of occasions, he was dropped. In 13 T20Is played since March 2023, Mustafzur has picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.5. In ODIs, he has scalped 21 wickets in 22 matches at an economy rate of almost six in the same period. 

It was argued that the high-quality environment in the Chennai Super Kings' setup, including MS Dhoni and bowling coach Dwayne Bravo, has prompted the Fizz to get back to his best and find his mojo. 

Even Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya pointed out the sheer wealth of experience former India skipper Dhoni brings after Mumbai lost their high-voltage clash against Chennai at the Wankhede on Sunday.  

"They bowled pretty well and Pathirana was the difference. They were smart with their plans and used the longer boundary well. They got the hang of it and they have a man behind the stumps telling them what's working," Pandya said in the post-match interview.