Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are interested in Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani as one of the candidates to replace Mustafizur Rahman. In January, KKR had released the Bangladeshi pacer from their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 squad following the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) instruction.
With less than 2 weeks left for the IPL 2026 season to commence, KKR haven’t yet 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 zone in on Mustafizur Rahman replacement
According to RevSportz journalist Debasis Sen, Blessing is one of the names in considering as Mustafizur’s replacement. 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 Lucknow Super Giants’ net bowler. Blessing has also followed KKR and Andre Russell, power coach, on social media which further fueled the speculation.
However, there’s one caveat. Blessing has already been signed by Islamabad United for 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.
Of course, Blessing can withdraw from the PSL. Last year, 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. Blessing can do the same if KKR indeed offers him a contract.
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
KKR full schedule for IPL 2026
| Match No. | Date | Day | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 29/03/26 | Sunday | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| 6 | 02/04/26 | Thursday | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 12 | 06/04/26 | Monday | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 15 | 09/04/26 | Thursday | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
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