Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani could reportedly be in trouble after signing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2026. Muzarabani was picked by KKR as a replacement for Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman.
Muzarabani was slated to play in the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Islamabad United for PKR 11 million as a replacement player. However, he withdrew from the PSL, preferring to play in the IPL instead.
Blessing Muzarabani to reportedly face legal action from PCB
According to a report in Geo Super, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could take legal action against the Harare-born cricketer for skipping the PSL, despite being bought as a replacement for West Indies’ Shamar Joseph.
This is for the second year in a row when a player has swapped the PSL for IPL. Last year, Mumbai Indians had signed South Africa all-rounder Corbin Bosch as an injury replacement during IPL 2025. Ahead of PSL 2025, Peshawar Zalmi had signed Bosch as a Diamond Pick, and withdrawing from the PSL in the last minute brought serious repercussions. The Durban-born cricketer received a one-year ban from the PSL for breaching his contract.
Muzarabani will look to carry on from where he left off in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup. He played a crucial part in helping Zimbabwe reach the Super 8 stage, taking 13 wickets from six matches. This included a four-wicket haul against Australia in the group stage, a match which Zimbabwe won by 23 runs.
Till date, Muzarabani has played 89 T20Is for Zimbabwe and has taken 106 wickets at an economy rate of 7.24.
When Muzarabani makes his IPL debut in the upcoming season, he will become only the fourth Zimbabwe player to play at least one IPL match. Tatenda Taibu (Kolkata Knight Riders), Ray Price (Mumbai Indians) and Sikandar Raza (Punjab Kings) are the players from Zimbabwe to have played in the IPL.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had signed Brendan Taylor ahead of IPL 2014, but he did not play any match that season. In IPL 2025, Muzarabani was roped in by eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as a temporary replacement for South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi. However, he did not play a single match.
Three-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their 2026 campaign with a match against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Mumbai on 29 March. They will then host Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on 2 April, before facing Punjab Kings (PBKS) four days later. KKR will then lock horns against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on 9 April.
