Why does Mustafiz win the ICC Emerging Cricketer award?

Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman won the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year award in 2016. International Cricket Council (ICC) published the news on their official website on Thursday.

He is the first Bangladesh cricketer to win an annual ICC award.

The Fizz made his international cricket debut against Pakistan in the Twenty20 format in April 2015. Later that year, he played his first One Day International and Test matches against India and South Africa, respectively.

He is the first player to win the ‘Man of the Match’ award on both Test as well as ODI debuts. The left-arm pacer hauled the most wickets (13) in a debut ODI series.

Mustafiz, known as Satkhira Cyanide, has taken 26 wickets playing nine ODI matches so far. He has hauled 22 wickets in 13 T20Is.

However, in the period under consideration for the award, Mustafizur played three ODIs and took eight wickets, while he yielded 19 wickets in 10 T20Is, ICC said.

The cutter-master played his last ODI match against Zimbabwe on November, 2015. His last T20I was against New Zealand on 26 March, 2016.

Then sustaining injury the cricketer went under knife and was outside of cricket for a long time for his recovery.

However, the cricketer became Emerging Cricketer of the Year in 2016.

His fans believe that he deserved the prize last year. Many believe ICC awarded him the prize this year considering not only his performance in the period but for the performance of the previous period.

Mustafizur commented: “This award is the best gift of the year for me and will encourage me to do even better in the coming years. I’m delighted and proud to win this award, especially since it’s the first time that a Bangladesh player has won an ICC award.

“To play international cricket is the dream for every budding cricketer and it has indeed been a dream come true for me too. I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the years and promise to give my best at every opportunity,” he added.