London, March 2 (IANS) English county side Sussex on Wednesday signed Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman as their second overseas cricketer for 2016.
The pacer will feature in 50-over and Twenty20 cricket for the club. The 20-year-old will be following in the footsteps of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal who have earlier played in county cricket.
Mustafizur stormed onto the international scene last year as he bagged two five-wicket hauls in his first two One-Day Internationals. His performance also helped Bangladesh earn their first-ever bilateral series win over India.
Despite only making his debut in 2015, he became the first Bangladeshi to be named in the ICC's ODI team of the year.
"I am very excited to get an opportunity in county cricket," Mustafizur was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com.
"It has always been an ambition of mine to play in England and I am thankful to Sussex for this opportunity. I hope I can repay the faith they have shown in me with my performances on the field."
The fast bowler is currently recuperating from a side strain and will miss the rest of the Asia Cup. He will then play in the World T20 in India followed by the Indian Premier League (IPL). He will go to Sussex after that for the NatWest Blast.
Sussex's head coach Mark Davis said: "I am really excited to have Mustafizur at Sussex. He is a cricketer with incredible ability and is currently one of the bright young talents of world cricket."
"His unorthodox bowling variations make him a very difficult customer to bat against, and he will be a brilliant addition to our team."
