Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam feels that Mustafizur Rahman enjoys playing in the Indian Premier League more than playing for his country as the pressure is lesser in the franchise-based T20 tournament compared to what he faces while turning out for Bangladesh.
Mustafizur has picked 11 wickets in six matches so far for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL. He has shown through the course of this season his abilities at the highest level against tough oppositions, even as he's had an ordinary 12 months in the international circuit.
"I watch every game and every ball Mustafizur bowls. I talk to him the day after the matches," Shoriful said. "I think he [Mustafizur] enjoys playing in the IPL more than playing for the Bangladesh team. It is because the pressure is less there. Perhaps, there are a lot of expectations when playing for Bangladesh and you come under immense pressure if you don't play well," he said.
"He (Mustafizur) is performing regularly. It is just that he has been unable to perform in the last two or three games (for the national team). What I mean by pressure is that everyone's expectations are quite high because of his performance over the last couple of years. Perhaps he couldn't meet the expectations in the last one or two games," he concluded.
Mustafizur will get three more games to add to his tally before returning home. CSK's fixture against PBKS on May 1 will be his last for the season, before joining up with the national squad for the Zimbabwe series that kicks off on May 3.