Mustafizur Rahman approaches IPL 9 with 'open mind'

Dhaka: Bangladesh's pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman is approaching his first year in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with an "open mind".

The young seamer is not setting himself a specific target but is not worried about his participation in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, starting April 9, reports bdnews24.com.

Mustafizur Rahman. Pic/ AFP

He just wants to perform well and pick up a wider range of skills.

Mustafizur will be playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad who face the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening match on April 12.

"What is there to think about? I really don't think much about anything. Just go, play and bowl - that's it," Mustafizur said on Wednesday.

Bangladesh crashed to four successive defeats in the Super 10s of the World Twenty20 last month.

Mustafizur, who joined the team in the second match of the round after recovering from an injury, shone bright with nine wickets in three matches.

Hyderabad franchise mentor V.V.S. Laxman saw the youngster in action when he burst onto the scene in the One-Day series against India in June last year.

The former India batsman had his eyes on Mustafizur since then as the Sunrisers managed to sign him up in the auction by outbidding the Bangalore franchise earlier this year.

Laxman, also a professional commentator, has always praised Mustafizur from the commentary box. He and Mustafizur, however, did not cross paths during the showcase event in India.

"I am not really good in either English or Hindi, maybe that's why we did not meet up," Mustafizur said.

He bamboozled the New Zealand batsmen in their last match, returning 5/22 against New Zealand. That was the best bowling figures in a match in the just concluded World T20.

The Sunrisers' fast bowling unit also includes Kiwi speedster Trent Boult, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhimanyu Kumar and Australia's Ben Cutting. So Mustafizur has to really bowl well for a place in the playing eleven.

But despite the obvious challenge, the southpaw also sees an opportunity to learn from these world class bowlers, "Definitely looking to learn with so many left-arm pacers in the pack."