Zimbabwe’s pace spearhead Blessing Muzarabani turned the heads of many with some outstanding bowling spells in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2026. According to some sources, the right-arm pacer is in line to become Mustafizur Rahman’s replacement in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Did Blessing Muzarabani forgo his PSL deal to join the Kolkata Knight Riders?
A few unverified sources have claimed that the right-arm speedster has withdrawn from the 2026 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to join the Knight Riders in IPL 2026. According to ESPN’s report on February 14, Islamabad United franchise had removed Shamar Joseph from their squad and drafted in Muzarabani as Joseph’s replacement, with the latter fetching a contract of PKR 11 million. Nevertheless, the Knight Riders are yet to release an official confirmation about Mustafizur’s replacement.
Unconfirmed: reports suggest Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani is the front runner to replace Mustafizur Rahman at Kolkata Knight Riders.
Sources in Pakistan say that Muzarabani has withdrawn from his PSL contract at Islamabad United in favour of a US$90,000 deal at the IPL.… pic.twitter.com/OjZGdiWUeZ
— Adam Theo🇿🇼🏏 (@AdamTheofilatos) March 13, 2026
Muzarabani has been part of PSL before when Multan Sultans won the 2021 edition after beating Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs in the final at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The final saw the Harare-born speedster took tidy figures of 4-0-26-2 as Multan Sultans defended a total of 206 easily. He had taken 10 wickets in six matches at 14.40 that season. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old’s outing in T20 World Cup 2026 is something that makes him a hot prospect as he finished the marquee tournament with 13 scalps in six games, making him the fourth-highest wicket-taker.
Why did Kolkata Knight Riders withdraw Mustafizur Rahman’s deal?
In early January, the three-time champions had released an official statement on releasing the Bangladeshi left-arm seamer, citing ‘recent developments’ seemingly hinting at the geopolitical developments across the region. Rahman was notably paid a hefty sum of ₹9.2 crore in the auction. The development followed a chain of other massive developments as Bangladesh banned IPL broadcast following the row.
Later, the government also refused to send the men’s team to India for T20 World Cup 2026, demanding for their matches to take place in Sri Lanka. Since the ICC refused to abide by the request, Bangladesh were removed from the tournament.
