He made a dramatic entry into international cricket but retired at the age of 31, almost unnoticed. There wasn’t much discussion about him on social media or in cricket circles. The little that was said was filled with regret and disappointment regarding his career.
After all, where is the opportunity to sing praises for a pacer who played only six ODIs and two T20s? The player in question is Indian pacer Barinder Sran.
One might wonder, why was there so much hype around Sran’s debut, considering he played only eight international matches? The answer lies in Bangladesh’s left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman. Let’s explore this story. Sran made his international debut in January 2016, just after India was crushed in a 3-match ODI series in Bangladesh in June of the previous year.
That series saw Mustafizur make his debut against India. The young, unfamiliar Mustafizur single-handedly tormented India’s star players. He took 13 wickets in the 3-match series, setting a world record for the most wickets in a debut series. Indian stars like Kohli and Raina were repeatedly baffled by Mustafizur’s cutters and swing.
Having been thoroughly outplayed by Mustafizur, India embarked on a mission to find their own “Mustafizur.” As part of this search, Sran, a 23-year-old, was suddenly included in the squad for the ODI series against Australia in 2016. At that time, Sran had only played eight List A matches.
He had only started playing professional cricket at the age of 18, even though his original ambition was to become a boxer. His life changed when he saw a newspaper advertisement for Kings XI Punjab’s trials. Even he didn’t expect such a rapid opportunity, and he expressed his surprise when selected for the team.
Sran, like Mustafizur, was a left-arm pacer and his weapon was also the cutter. Both had relatively sudden rises from remote areas. Putting two and two together, the Indian media began comparing Sran to Mustafizur. Leading Indian news outlet Zee News even ran a headline asking, “Has India found its own Mustafizur Rahman in Barinder Sran?” The answer to that question has since been revealed. The career of India’s “Mustafizur” ended with only 13 wickets (7 in ODIs, 6 in T20s), while Mustafizur took that many wickets in just a 3-match ODI series against India.
Although Sran showed some promise at the start—taking the wickets of Aaron Finch, David Warner, and Steve Smith in his debut match—he failed to take any wickets in the remaining two matches of that series against Australia. Later that year, he took 4 wickets in a 3-match series against Zimbabwe and played two T20s against Zimbabwe as well. Sran’s international career effectively ended there.
Sran and Mustafizur even played together in the IPL. In 2016, both played for Sunrisers Hyderabad. That season, Sran took 14 wickets in 14 matches, including the wicket of Virat Kohli in the final. However, Sran’s IPL career didn’t progress much further, with him playing only 24 matches in total.
Meanwhile, Mustafizur is still playing. He remains one of Bangladesh’s top bowlers, with 323 wickets in international cricket. In the IPL, he has taken 61 wickets, and last season he played for Chennai Super Kings. The difference between the career of the real Mustafizur and that of “India’s Mustafizur” is clear.
