Blessing Muzarabani ditches PSL for IPL, replaces Mustafizur Rahman at KKR

KKR will commence their IPL 2026 campaign on March 29 against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani as the replacement for Mustafizur Rahman. In January, KKR released the Bangladeshi pacer from their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 squad following the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) instructions.

With less than 2 weeks left for the IPL 2026 season to commence, KKR hadn’t named a replacement for Mustafizur. Considering two of their other fast bowlers, Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana, are currently out with injuries, KKR need to be proactive and assemble a proper unit.

KKR replaces Mustafizur Rahman

Blessing was one of the top contenders to replace the left-arm pacer, and KKR confirmed the reports. The Zimbabwean pacer came in as a temporary replacement for Lungi Ngidi for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) last year. During the IPL 2022 season, he was also the Lucknow Super Giants’ net bowler. Blessing had followed KKR and Andre Russell, the power coach, on social media, which further fuelled the speculation.

Blessing has pulled out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026. During the T20 World Cup 2026, the tall pacer was announced as a replacement for West Indian fast bowler Shamar Joseph for PKR 1.10 crore.

Last year, South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch had done the same after the Mumbai Indians (MI) offered him a contract. He left the Peshawar Zalmi and was subsequently fined and handed a 1-year ban from the PSL.

KKR full squad for IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, ⁠Rovman Powell✈️, Sunil Narine✈️, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Cameron Green✈️, Matheesha Pathirana✈️, Tejasvi Singh, Finn Allen✈️(wk), Karthik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Tim Seifert✈️ (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Mustafizur Rahman✈️, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra✈️, Akash Deep, Sarthak Ranjan, Blessing Muzarabani ✈️

KKR full schedule for IPL 2026