- July 10, 2025
“Do you recall the ‘Fizz’ that froze people’s blood? No batter knew how to face his cutters back in 2015 – must have been the young fearless ‘fantasy fresh’ that made the best batters in the world look like club batters. Now, in 2025, it seems Mustafizur is rather ‘the club’ himself. Sure, the crowd claps, but the numbers and performances on the field have become significantly louder than the jubilant crowd. Has Father Time finally caught up with Mustafizur in terms of ODI cricket?”
The Declining Numbers Don’t Lie
Let’s be honest, cricket is largely a numbers game, especially ODIs. Unfortunately, Mustafizur has not been generating any dazzling numbers since the 2023 World Cup. Nineteen ODIs, 19 wickets, and 5.69 economy look fine from a distance. Taking a closer look, we think he is generating bad numbers compared to the guys around him.
Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam have taken 27 and 23 wickets respectively for Bangladesh, but in many fewer games. I mean, Tanzim Hasan Shakib has 17 wickets in 11 games! And then there’s Mustafizur, who hasn’t taken a wicket in 10 of his 19 matches, more than half!
Let’s also consider his effectiveness across the three phases of an ODI game. With the new ball, he has 4 wickets in 29 overs at 5.45 RPO for the middle overs, he has 11 wickets in 101.4 overs, and at the death, which is supposedly his strength, he has 4 wickets in 27.4 overs at an economy of 7.05 RPO. We can compare that with Taskin (10 wickets, 6.08 RPO) and Shoriful (9 wickets, 7.11 RPO) and see that the gap is getting wider.
Still the ‘Fizz’ or Just Fizzling Out?
The first time Mustafizur made waves as a young cricketer was with his deceptive cutters—something the rest of world cricket didn’t see coming. But as Mahbub Ali Zaki, the BCB’s game development coach, pointed out recently to me, Mustafizur’s overall game hasn’t changed much.
His pace and swing? Absent. Variation? Over-reliance on one type of cutter. His endurance? Questionable. Zaki was blunt: Mustafizur is not physically ready to bowl 10 overs at full speed.
What’s even more significant is that Zaki feels Mustafizur hides behind the claim of “injuries” to avoid playing ODIs and four-day games because he knows that his body simply won’t be able to handle it. That is very scary for someone who is possibly the senior bowler on the team. When your fitness is questioned alongside your form and you’re not putting in any real effort to fix that, people are going to wonder.
Is It Time to Move On?
Let’s face the facts, neither does Bangladesh cricket have a shortage of pace options anymore. Taskin, Shoriful, Tanzim, and Hasan Mahmud are all hungry and doing well. As for a left-arm option, Shoriful is arguably a more reliable and consistent option these days.
If Mustafizur is not able to produce stamina, consistency, and adaptability to suit ODI cricket, perhaps team management shouldn’t be choosing him early on based on the memory of the success they had with him in the IPL. If this is still the case, then it is time to think long-term for the future of the Bangladesh ODI side.
Zaki summarizes well. The youngsters can be expensive, but at least they will get experience. Relying on Mustafizur for one or two overs to save a match is not an effective strategy. Development takes time, and it may just be developmentally correct at this point to take a risk on youth.
Let us know what you think—should Mustafizur still be part of Bangladesh’s ODI future, or has his time run out?
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