Emdad Rahman
Bangladesh fast bowler and cricket sensation Mustafizur Rahman was the guest of honour during the celebration of a successful summer youth cricket programme in Whitechapel.
The 20 year old first came to the fore as a teenager during India’s tour of Bangladesh. The world took notice when the precocious talent became only the second bowler in the history of One-Day Internationals (ODIs) to record two five-wicket hauls in his first two matches. He is the only bowler to take 11 wickets in his first two games. During the third ODI, Mustafiz took another two Indian wickets and etched his name into the history books by totalling 13 wickets in a 3-match ODI series.
A mere 48 hours after arriving in the UK, the pace bowler starred in his Natwest T20 Blast debut – taking four wickets for 23 as Sussex beat Essex in Chelmsford. Due to a slight shoulder injury, Mustafiz has now been put on a rehabilitation programme to allow him to regain 100% fitness.
“The Fizz” met his fans and local cricket youngsters from the London Tigers Summer Programme at the organisation’s Whitechapel base. Addressing the audience Mustafiz said, “I’m really pleased to be here today and blessed to have received so much love and affection from everybody I have met. I travelled 40 kilometres from my home to practise as a youngster and it shows that hard work and dedication pays off.”
Fans were able to take pictures with their hero and acquire his autograph. Shahidul Alam Ratan, Director of Cricket at Capital Kids Cricket, said, “It’s a source of tremendous pride that we have been able to welcome such a huge star to our shores. As a proud British Bangladeshi I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Mustafiz for attending our event today.”
Jawar Ali, Operations Director at London Tigers, concluded, “We give huge thanks to Mustafiz for giving up his time to come visit us. We have so many happy youngsters who will feel inspired to become better human beings because of their experience today.”
Following the meet and greet session, the Bangladeshi star engaged the young cricketers in a game of street cricket which proved very popular with the local community.
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