Mustafizur’s struggles stemming from lack of red-ball perseverance

England's Moeen Ali made his debut in 2014, a year before Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman. One similarity is that neither have been playing Test cricket, but the differences in their thought process is an important aspect in Bangladesh's pace-bowling department.

The difference is that Moeen was starting to feel the lack of Test cricket affecting his white-ball cricket. Moeen felt he was missing rhythm with his spin.

"When I was playing Test matches, I always felt like I was bowling well in white-ball cricket. You can kind of lose that rhythm, I guess. I think I've got to have that mindset of still bowling with that same energy as I would have done in Test matches," Moeen recently said in an interview with Cricinfo.

Moeen is a veteran of 63 Tests compared to Mustafizur's 15 Tests. Pitches for home Test had rendered pace bowlers as souvenirs and, in that regard, Mustafizur's motivation has always been white-ball cricket, with just 36 first-class games under his belt.

The question can always be pondered why a white-ball specialist needs longer-version cricket. Talking to Nazmul Abedin Faheem, analyst and mentor to many national team stars, shed some light.

"Test cricket gives batters and bowlers an opportunity to play their own way and understand their own strengths and weaknesses. In T20 format, you don't play your own game, the scoreboard dictates," he said.

The analytical side of Fizz's game merits reconsideration given the two length deliveries in his last IPL game, which allowed batters to get under them at a very crucial stage. It appeared he could be targeted when opposition required it.

"I don't know if he [Mustafizur] has a clear head about his own game. He is probably depending on what others tell him. It's not about his cutters or slowers but his understanding and reading of the game. There is the thing about 'what am I not supposed to do?'. That's probably in his head."

Does that stem from a negative mindset?

"Yes," Fahim says. "You are thinking you won't bowl loose deliveries or half-volleys or wides. But negative thoughts don't bring positive results. Maybe he's thinking he won't give away runs but it's very difficult since in T20s without aggressive intent since everyone gets hit. He has to back himself and he isn't doing that.

"We used to think of him as an automatic choice in T20s but that's not the case anymore. We have four to five bowlers who come before Mustafizur," Fahim says.

It is not just Tests, playing first-class games could have been beneficial as well.

"Your technique is completely challenged in longer-version cricket. In T20s, you can bowl slowers but in longer-version the wicket has to be earned with skill. You acquire that skill with hardships day in and day out. That's where mental strength and perseverance comes from.

"Every format has a different trait and your mentality develops according to that. Talking about perseverance, when a partnership develops and reaches 200, you are still bowling and persevering. That mental development is missing," Fahim concluded.