"I am not in the red-ball contract" - Mustafizur Rahman to adopt pick-and-choose policy to prolong career

Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman is unlikely to return to Test cricket and stressed the need to pick and choose wisely in order to prolong his career.

Incidentally, Mustafizur Rahman opted out of the red-ball contract when the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) introduced format-wise contracts for its players. While the governing body is likely to sit with the leading pacer to get a clear idea of his future, Mustafizur stated that he is clear in his head about his red-ball plans.

Speaking on Bengali daily Azker Potrika, the leading pacer said:

''I will clear my position regarding playing Test cricket to Bangladesh Cricket Board if they want to know about it. What I see is that my seniors spoke with the BCB president (regarding playing and not playing certain formats) and I will also talk with the board president though he is well aware about the whole situation. BCB never forced me in this regard (playing Test cricket) and I am not in the red-ball contract."

He added:

"For me staying healthy is important. If I want to give service to Bangladesh team for a long time, then staying fit is important and to remain fit I feel the best way it to pick and choose between three formats. I chose my format taking my success into consideration and according to records my success in T20s and ODIs is more (compared to Test cricket) and that is the reason I am focusing on these two formats. In the world, a lot of cricketers are choosing formats to prolong their career. A team cannot be formed depending on one specific player."

Since his debut in 2015, Mustafizur Rahman has featured in only 14 out of 39 Tests Bangladesh have played in this period. He has scalped 30 wickets with best figures of 5/66.

He recently skipped the two-match Test series against South Africa and traveled to India to feature in the ongoing 15th edition of the IPL.

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"We can give exposure to new cricketers against teams like Zimbabwe" - Mustafizur Rahman

The 26-year-old pacer, who is currently playing in the IPL, feels the board should give exposure to younger cricketers against weaker teams and build the bench strength to manage the workload of the cricketers going forward.

He added:

"Instead of thinking that my availability will bolster the strength of the pace unit, if we think that we need separate pace bowling units for the red and white ball formats, I feel in that case the workload can be managed as it will be balanced and pace bowlers will do well consistently."

He concluded:

''We can give exposure to new cricketers against teams like Zimbabwe and Ireland and if we don't give exposure to new cricketers how will they develop?"

Mustafizur Rahman has picked up 131 wickets in 74 ODIs and has scalped 87 wickets in 63 T20I games. Bangladesh will look to have a fully-fit Mustafizur in the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled in Australia.