IPL 2017

SRH expect Mustafizur to join squad on April 7

by JAC Gladson • Last updated on

Mustafizur is not expected to be available for many games this season. © Getty

Slowly but surely, the Sunrisers Hyderabad are hitting their stride. Their training schedule was thrown off gear by a virus that had laid the first batch of players low, including their bowling mentor Muttiah Muralitharan. But they have recovered from that blow and it's all systems go for the defending champions what with most of their players joining the team on Sunday (April 2).

However, Mustafizur Rahman, their bowling mainstay last season, will miss the opening match of IPL 10 against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on April 5. The Bangladeshi leftarm seamer, who confounded many batting line-ups to finish fifth in the bowling charts with 17 sticks last season, will join the team on April 7 and is likely to play only a few matches this season.

Coach Tom Moody confirmed the development. "We're expecting him (Mustafizur) to be here on the 7th. Unless we hear differently from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), we'll continue to expect him.

"One of the reasons why we secured both these talents (Ben Laughlin & Chris Jordan) is we knew Mustafizur is going to be available for only small portion of the tournament. We felt it was important to fill that gap and these guys have got excellent skills that enable us to have that option to be able to finish games," he said.

The SRH coach was also confident that skipper David Warner, who with 848 runs finished No.2 in the batting charts after Virat Kohli (973), would be fresh and raring to go despite the gruelling Test series against India.

"We've given him (Warner) an extra couple of days in Sydney to be with his family. We recognise as a franchise that family is important and in also keeping players fresh mentally. He's sending possible XIs for the games, so he hasn't switched off. He's just having a chance to recharge those batteries. Physically he's absolutely fine. 100% fit and I think the extra couple of days the franchise has allowed him back home with his two young daughters and his wife will pay dividends as the tournament unfolds," he said.

© TNN

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