Losing Mustafizur ‘disappointing’, says Chennai coach Fleming

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said losing star fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman because of the latter's national duty was "disappointing" at a crucial juncture of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Chennai were thin on bowling on Wednesday against Punjab Kings, especially after key bowlers in Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana had missed out. IPL Debutant Richard Gleeson bowled well and Mustafizur used his variations to keep the runs in check but Chennai didn't have enough runs on the board to back up their good work. 

On top of that, premier new-ball bowler Deepak Chahar had to walk off without completing an over and Fleming said he didn't "look good".

"Travel log is very busy. There are a lot of ins and outs. So Deepak Chahar doesn't look good. My initial feeling wasn't great. I'm hoping for a more positive report when we talk to the physio and have a look," Fleming said on Chahar. 

"The Sri Lankan boys [Pathirana and Theekshana] are off for their visa. Hoping that their process is smooth and we get them back for the game up north. [Richard] Gleeson was good. Was positive. Losing Fizz was disappointing. There's all happening, you know. Tushar has a bit of a flu going around as well, so we lost him to the flu today and had to make a few changes, which is unusual, but again, that's part of it…" Fleming added.

Although he bowled brilliantly against Punjab, it was Mustafizur's only wicketless game in this year's IPL. He is still the joint-highest wicket-taker so far with 14 from nine matches. Most notably, he bowled a maiden to Punjab big-hitter Shashank Singh on Wednesday which was only the sixth over with no run off the bat in this tournament.