Despite poor form, Kohli complimentary of Mustafizur’s bowling
The 24-year-old has been enduring a difficult 2019 in all forms of cricket, and his Twenty20 International performances have taken the biggest hit.
Left-arm pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman has been enduring a tough time on the field in India, but that has not stopped India captain Virat Kohli from praising him and considering him a big threat.
The 24-year-old has been enduring a difficult 2019 in all forms of cricket, and his Twenty20 International performances have taken the biggest hit.
The man known for bowling unplayable cutters at will was unable to work his magic and failed to take a single wicket against the hosts India in the three-match T20I series.
The same player was the chief destroyer of the Indian batting line-up in 2015, when the Indians toured Bangladesh.
That was however in white-ball cricket, and India have never faced 'The Fizz' in red-ball cricket and if Mustafiz is to make it to the starting XI on Thursday, it will be a first.
Captain Kohli was quite complimentary of the Bangladesh pace bowling attack, but had special praise for the left-arm quick.
"He is a very good bowler. We've played against him, but never in red-ball cricket. I think, facing left-arm pace bowling is quite challenging. Plus, we don't have left-arm pacers in our team so we haven't played much against them," Kohli said at the pre-match press-conference at Indore stadium.
"You have to pay a bit more attention when batting against left-arm pacers so it will be difficult for us to bat against them. Mustafiz is an important bowler for Bangladesh and a threat for us," the India Test captain added.
Kohli also added that Mustafiz would "know the Indian batsmen well from play a lot of cricket against them, especially in the Indian Premier League (IPL)."
"Against a good bowler, you have to keep your concentration levels up for long periods and that's the real test," Kohli concluded.