Aussies praise 'little genius' lighting up IPL

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner knows he has a special talent on his hands in the form of Bangladeshi quick Mustafizur Rahman, but telling the star rookie as much is proving to be more difficult than usual.

Report & Highlights: Warner, Mustafizur star for Sunrisers

Exactly 12 months since Mustafizur made his international debut, the left-armer underlined his potential as a future star with extraordinary figures of 2-9 - including 17 dot balls - in Hyderabad's five-wicket win over the Kings XI Punjab on Saturday night.

In continued the 20-year-old's exciting entry on the world stage, which has already yielded 52 international wickets from 24 matches across all three formats.

And his form so far in the IPL - he's taken seven wickets at an economy rate of 5.75 in five games - has been even more remarkable given the sizeable language barrier between him and his Australian captain.

"He's a little bit nervous (about the post-match presentation) because he can't speak much English," Warner said on Saturday night.

"He's a quality talent and what a display.

"He always says to me 'bowling no problem, but speaking and batting problem'."

And while the game's anti-corruption regulations means Warner must be separated from his phone during a match, he's sure to keep it close by whenever he can.

"It comes before the game: Google Translate," Warner said with a smile when asked how he communicates with his young star.

"And I've got a friend at home who speaks Bangla, so I get him to text me a little bit.

"But when you're out on the field he knows what he's got to do and he sets his field. If I disagree with one of his field placements, it's pretty easy to communicate."

Mustafizur has proven to be a natural at the highest level in his short international career so far, establishing himself as a key member of an exciting young crop of Bangladeshi players.

After taking five wickets on his one-day international debut in a victory against India last June - the likes of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane amongst his victims - Mustafizur then bagged four wickets on Test debut against South Africa, the mighty Hashim Amla his first Test scalp.

He's been a star in 20-over cricket as well, playing a crucial role in Bangladesh's campaigns at the recent Asia Cup and World T20 and is currently ranked the 19th best T20 bowler in the world by the ICC.

And he's made an instant impression at Hyderabad; his incredible performance at the death against the Kings XI earning him the man-of-the-match award as well as rave reviews from his teammates.

The left-armer was used predominantly in the late overs by Warner, as he has been throughout the tournament, and employed his unusual action and clever changes of pace to concede just eight runs and take two wickets across the 14th, 16th and 20th overs.

"The little genius was at it again tonight at the death," said the Sunrisers' Australian allrounder Moises Henriques.

"We know if we can keep the pressure on up front he'll do the job for us at the end.

"It'd be interesting to go back (in history) and see a bowler who's bowled three of the last six overs and still only gone for eight or nine runs in their four (over spell).

"That was genius bowling at the death there."

Warner, too, was generous with his praise.

"He's a special talent and Bangladesh should be privileged to have him," Warner said.

"He's a world-class player and he's proved himself here at the moment.

"It is early on in the tournament but hopefully he can keep continuing his form. His change of pace and knowledge of the game is very good."