Mustafizur will develop quickly if he plays in England - Hathurusingha

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has said that playing in England will be a steep learning experience for left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman to develop as a bowler.

Last month it was learned that Mustafizur had expressed reluctance to those close to him of going to England to play for Sussex soon after completing the IPL season. He also suffered a low-grade right hamstring injury towards the end of the tournament in India but it is not being considered a big problem. Sussex too have been keen on having him over, albeit a little later.

"If you want to improve the performance, you have to play in those conditions," Hathurusingha said. "[If] you don't go there, you don't know. Bangladesh cricket will be benefited. Mustafiz will develop quickly and perform well. So if it is not going to harm his health, I think it is a good thing for him to go and play. It is a rare opportunity for Bangladeshi players to play there [in England]. If I can send four players I will send them all. It is the best way to do it."

Hathurusingha's statement is by far the strongest push for Mustafizur to honour his contract with Sussex, who signed him in March this year, to play in the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One Day Cup this season.

Hathurusingha, who arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday evening after his vacation at home in Melbourne, said that while Mustafizur's next challenge would be to do well in Tests, he would also have to be taken care of, now that many batsmen around the world are seeing more of his bowling.

"He has played two Test matches and became Man of the Match in one with four wickets," Hathurusingha said. "At the start it is impressive but as you said it is going to be a challenge. He has to be fit, we have to look after him.

"We all know that his mystery is going to be found out very soon, so at the same time I am looking forward to his cricketing intelligence. So we will find ways for him to be competitive. Our challenge is look after him and develop him and keep him in the pack to play for Bangladesh."