Popularly known as ‘The Fizz’, Mustafizur Rahman shot into fame after picking up a total of 17 wickets in 16 appearances and helping the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team to secure their first-ever IPL title in 2016.
Although he made his debut across all formats of the game in 2015, his performances in IPL proved to be career-defining performances for him.
In April, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) sought to have a discussion with him on his plans for red-ball cricket. This move came after the left-arm pacer opted out of the Test contract in 2021.
In the latest interview with Bengali daily Azker Potrika, Rahman gave a hint about choosing a particular format to prolong his career. He reckoned that the board has not forced him to play Test cricket until this point of his career.
''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,'' Mustafizur said on Thursday.
Rahman felt that he needs to be healthy to provide his services to Bangladesh for a longer period.
''For me staying healthy is important. If I want to give service to the Bangladesh team for a long time, then staying fit is important and to remain fit I feel the best way is to pick and choose between three formats.
Rahman urged BCB to keep a separate bowling unit for the red-ball and white-ball formats. He further added that the workload needs to be managed for the pace-bowlers of the Bangladesh team to flourish in the upcoming series.
''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,'' Rahman concluded.
Currently, Rahman is featuring for Delhi Capitals in Indian Premier League 2022, wherein he has scalped four wickets in five matches at an economy of 7.30.