A day after Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani’s agent put out a legal statement hitting out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for banning the fast-bowler from Pakistan Super League for 2 years, the latter has responded. Muzarabani has been banned for 2 years from the tournament after he opted to snub a contract with Islamabad United and instead decided to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Countering the claims made by Blessing, which included calling the PCB ‘cowards’, and also levelling allegations of not having received a contract from IU, the PCB has claimed that a verbal agreement was reached between the franchise and the player, and that the latter disregarded those obligations.
PCB responds to Blessing Muzarabani’s claims
As per news agency PTI, PCB sources claimed that although there was no written contract, a verbal agreement between Muzarabani and Islamabad United had been in place. The sources claimed that despite the PCB offering a firm deal which the player accepted, the latter chose to snub PSL for IPL.
“The sources added that the board’s clarification stated that, despite a firm offer and an unequivocal acceptance of key terms, the player chose to disregard those obligations in favour of a conflicting arrangement,” the report stated.
What Muzarabani said
“We’ve remained quiet publicly over the last 6 weeks because we did not wish to create or cause anymore animosity for the Pakistan Super League/Pakistan Cricket Board than they had already created for themselves. However, due to the voluminous and disgusting nature of criticism directed at Blessing via social media, I will no longer stay silent. Blessing loves the fans. Everywhere he goes, he engages with the public and is generous with his time for the fans. I have seen this gentle giant mature into an exceptional man as well as a world-class cricketer. However, to the so-called “fans” that fill his social media DM’s with vile hatred, you are an utter disgrace to humanity, and you are cowards.”
Blessing was named as Mustafizur Rahman’s replacement in KKR for IPL 2026 after the franchise was forced to release the Bangladesh pacer earlier this year owing to geopolitical tensions between India and Bangladesh. He is not the first star to ditch PSL for IPL , as Corbin Bosch had done so last year, while Spencer Johnson (CSK) and Dasun Shanaka (RR) also dropped out of their PSL commitments to play in the IPL.
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