National

Mustafiz aims to make up for lost time with Sussex Sharks

Mustafizur Rahman has vowed to make up for lost time when he finally joins Sussex. The Bangladesh star was due to link up with the Sharks a month ago but has repeatedly delayed his arrival due to a combination of homesickness and injury. The 20-year-old returned to Bangladesh to recover from multiple leg injuries after starring in the Indian Premier League but is due to be available for the last four matches of Sussex’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign, starting at home to Hampshire on July 15. Sussex have signed David Wiese and Nuwad Kulasekara on short-term deals to fill in for Rahman and the left-arm seamer is determined to showcase his talents when he gets to England. Rahman said: ‘I feel better than I was after I came to Dhaka from the IPL. I can bowl now, which I wasn’t able to previously. ‘It would be good to go to Sussex. I will try to give my best there. I have played one under-19 game in England in 2013 but had to return home soon after due to an injury.’ Bangladesh have been keen to wrap their prized asset in cotton wool and had hinted Rahman would have to pull out of his deal with Sussex altogether if he was still troubled by injury. He has now proved his fitness and is set to travel to England on July 13 - as long as he is able to obtain the necessary visa - and will remain at Hove until August 2 meaning he will play in four T20 and four 50-over matches. Jalal Yunus, Bangladesh’s media committee chairman, said’ ‘Our medical team gave positive report about his physical condition. He is doing fine in training at the moment and we expect him to improve.’