Last Updated on 1 month ago by Charbel Coorey

Three-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have announced the signing of Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani ahead of IPL 2026. 

Muzarabani was earlier set to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the Islamabad United, but withdrew from the PSL and will feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Earlier, the BCCI had asked the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman, whom they’ve bought for INR 9.20 crores in the auction, due to political tension between India and Bangladesh. 

Interestingly, Mustafizur will now feature in the PSL for the Lahore Qalandars. Muzarabani went unsold in the IPL auction, and he was not picked up by any side in the PSL as well before he joined Islamabad as a replacement for West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph. 

Blessing’s stocks were already high after a phenomenal performance in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where he picked up 13 wickets in 6sixgames at an economy of 7.88 and strike rate of 11. He picked up a 4-wicket haul (4/17) against Australia in a man-of-the-match performance.

KKR’s pace bowling concerns for IPL 2026

KKR had signed Matheesha Pathirana in the IPL 2026 auction for a whopping price of INR 18 crore, but he’s currently recovering from injury, and it’s not sure whether he’ll play in IPL 2026 or not. 

Harshit Rana is also injured and will miss IPL 2026. Apart from these two, the Knight Riders have Akashdeep, Umran Malik, and Kartik Tyagi in their ranks alongside Vaibhav Arora. 

Vaibhav has been a key member of the KKR side in the last couple of seasons, but he’s mainly a new-ball bowler, and other options are not very promising for them. While Muzarabani adds some depth to their pace attack, their bowling still looks light.

Also, it will be a big headache for KKR with regards to selecting overseas players, as Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, and Sunil Narine are already there.