After the rising political pressure on the BCCI to impose a ban on Mustafizur Rahman and restrict the participation of Bangladeshi players in the IPL, the BCCI has finally issued a directive for the Kolkata Knight Riders to replace the Bangladeshi paceman from their squad.
The Kolkata Knight Riders picked Mustafizur Rahman in the IPL 2026 mini-auction for a whopping INR 9.20 crores. He has played for several franchises in the IPL, as he has played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Mumbai Indians, the Rajasthan Royals, the Delhi Capitals, and lastly the Chennai Super Kings.
BCCI issues directive for Mustafizur Rahman’s replacement from KKR
Mustafizur Rahman played for the Delhi Capitals last season, having replaced Jake Fraser-McGurk from the Capitals squad. The BCCI succumbed to the pressure built by the political leaders and masses of India, and hence issued the directive to release him from the squad ahead of the IPL.
Mustafizur Rahman has been released by the Knight Riders management, and hence, they will be allowed to side along with other players who can replace him in the KKR squad.
Top 7 pacers who can replace Mustafizur Rahman for KKR:
7. Naveen Ul Haq
Afghan pacer Naveen Ul Haq has played in the IPL for the Lucknow Super Giants back in IPL 2023 and 2024. The pacer has picked 25 wickets in the history of the IPL. He went unsold in the previous auction and in the recent mini-auction as well. The pacer can come in handy on the KKR side and will be a good replacement for Mustafizur Rahman in the death overs.
6. Alzarri Joseph
West Indies paceman Alzarri Joseph rose to fame with a stunning performance in the IPL. Making his IPL debut in 2019, he picked 6 wickets in a single game for the Mumbai Indians. Later in 2022 and 2023, he played for the Gujarat Titans and picked 7 wickets in every season. Joseph is also a stunning replacement option for the Knights.
5. William O’Rourke
The lanky speedster from New Zealand, William O’Rourke, has been rising as a white-ball talent. Rourke played in the IPL for the Lucknow Super Giants last season as a replacement in the side. The young pacer is quick and can deliver smartly with the new ball for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
4. Gerald Coetzee
South African paceman Gerald Coetzee has not been named in the ICC T20 World Cup squad, but could make it to the Kolkata Knight Riders squad as a replacement for the Bangladesh star. Coetzee played for the Gujarat Titans last season but went for too many runs and his uneconomical spells left him unsold in the auction.
3. Shamar Joseph
Shamar Joseph, the West Indies speedster, has been ruled out due to an injury since the home series against Australia. Shamar Joseph was part of the Lucknow Super Giants camp last season but did not get adequate chances to make it count in the IPL. Joseph went unsold in the player auction in 2026, and if he recovers from injury, he can replace Mustafizur in the KKR camp.
2. Fazalhaq Farooqi
Fazalhaq Farooqi is the best possible option in this list of pacers to replace the Bangladesh paceman Fazalhaq Farooqi. Farooqi played for the Rajasthan Royals last season, and in the few opportunities he had, he proved to be a very effective and economical bowler. Farooqi can be the like-for-like replacement for Mustafizur Rahman.
1. Tom Curran
The England bowling all-rounder Tom Curran has not played for England for a long time, but despite this, he has turned out to be an exceptional talent across T20 leagues. He has performed very well in the last few years in the CPL, BBL, ILT20, and The Hundred, or any other league he has played in. Curran can turn out to be convincing with both the bat and ball, which can be an advantage for the Knight Riders.
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