KKR’s Rs 9.2 Crore Signing May Miss Part of IPL 2026: Report
KKR’s Rs 9.2 crore signing Mustafizur Rahman may miss a few IPL 2026 matches due to Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour, though a partial NOC is likely.
KKR’s star pacer Mustafizur Rahman, the most expensive Bangladeshi player in IPL history, may miss a part of IPL 2026 due to international duty.
The auction of IPL 2026 was very much a spectacular show wherein Kolkata Knight Riders not only stood first but also gave their biggest bid for the fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from Bangladesh. He, however, will not be there for the whole season. The amount that the left-arm speedster went for in the auction was Rs 9.2 crores, and it is believed that he will be absent from a few matches due to the national team commitment.
Kolkata Knight Riders entered the IPL 2026 auction bagging the whole amount of Rs 64.3 crore and were one of the most potent teams at the auction. The franchise was able to buy the likes of Cameron Green who was picked up for Rs 25.2 crore and Matheesha Pathirana for Rs 18 crore. The signing of the latter was another major victory as a bidding war was won against Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings and the player is now the most expensive Bangladeshi player in IPL ever.
A conflicting news report has reported that Mustafizur will not be available from April 16 to 23 since Bangladesh will be participating in ODIs and T20Is in New Zealand during that period. Despite the confirmation of the tour dates still being awaited, the overlap of the IPL season with his unavailability is a strong possibility.
No Major Concern for KKR
The scenario however is not such that it will affect KKR's campaign greatly. Mustafizur is an important cricketer for the T20I team of Bangladesh but his participation in the ODI squad still remains doubtful. So it is almost certain that the Bangladesh Cricket Board will issue him a NOC with a condition that he will play the T20I series before returning to India for the IPL thus he will miss a few ODI matches.
The Record Making Deal
The deal worth 9.2 crores for Mustafizur has been a great success and made him the highest-paid Bangladeshi cricketer in the IPL history. He is, however, the fourth Bangladeshi player after Mashrafa Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, and Litton Das to be part of KKR.
So far the fast bowler has participated in 60 IPL matches and he has claimed a lot of wickets with a total of 65 in the process of playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, and Delhi Capitals. The bowler with his variations and prowess in death overs is probably going to be one of the most prominent bowlers in KKR's attack for the 2026 season.
KKR, who have already set their eyes on the IPL 2026 title, will be hoping that his short break does not disrupt their plans.
