Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be without Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman for the first two matches of the IPL 2021, following Jofra Archer. Rahman, who is in New Zealand with the Bangladesh team, has missed the last two T20I matches. He will, however, remain with the team until Sunday, April 4th, before departing for India. As a result, when he arrives in India on April 5, he will be subjected to a seven-day quarantine, effectively ruling him out of the first match against Punjab Kings on April 12.
Rabeed Imam, Senior Manager, Media & Communications for the Bangladesh Cricket Board, told InsideSport.co that Mustafizur will be with the team until April 4. “He hasn’t left for India yet. Imam said, “He is with the team and will only leave with the team on Sunday.”
Mustafizur Rahman was supposed to be Rajasthan Royals’ second pacer after being purchased for Rs 1 crore in the IPL 2021 auction. Andrew Tye will be charged with leading RR’s pace attack, with Jofra Archer undergoing surgery and almost certain to miss the entire IPL 2021 season.
If Mustafizur had been available, the experience of a foreign bowler would have been invaluable to the 2008 IPL champions. RR’s method of receiving his services has also failed to meet his standards. After Bangladesh scheduled a complete series against Sri Lanka during the IPL, Mustafizur said he would rather play for Bangladesh than in the IPL.
However, he said last month that playing for Bangladesh would be his top priority. With two Test matches against Sri Lanka scheduled during IPL 2021 (April 17 to May 3), Rahman could miss the entire tournament this year.