KKR's Rs 9.2 crore signee Mustafizur Rahman to not be available for full IPL 2026 season?

Bangladesh and Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) premier left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman is expected to be unavailable for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 between April 16 and 23. As per a report by India Today, sources within the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has hinted that Mustafizur's absence could be due to a scheduling conflict with Bangladesh’s upcoming home series against New Zealand, which features both ODI and T20I matches. While the IPL is reported to run from late March to the end of May, the exact dates for the New Zealand tour have yet to be finalized.

Mustafizur Rahman to miss some matches of IPL 2026?

There is a strong possibility that Mustafizur may still feature in a significant portion of the IPL season despite the international commitments. Given his status as a vital component of the national T20I squad but a player frequently rotated in the 50-over format, the BCB is considering a flexible No-Objection Certificate (NOC). This arrangement would potentially exempt him from the ODI leg of the New Zealand series while requiring his presence for the T20Is, allowing him to return to India for the remainder of the tournament.

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KKR rope in Mustafizur Rahman for Rs 9.20 crore

The news follows a historic day for the 30-year-old at the auction, where KKR secured his services for Rs 9.20 crore. This massive bid makes him the most expensive Bangladeshi player in the history of the IPL. By joining KKR, he becomes the fourth player from his nation to wear the purple and gold, joining the ranks of Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, and Litton Das.

Notably, Mustafizur is the sole representative from Bangladesh to find a franchise this season. While several of his teammates, including Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Rishad Hossain—were included in the auction pool or registration lists, they either went unsold or were not brought up for bidding. Mustafizur’s record-breaking price tag highlights his unique value as a specialist in the T20 format.

Mustafizur walked into the IPL 2026 auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore, sparking an immediate bidding war between the Delhi Capitals and the Chennai Super Kings. CSK, drawing on their positive history with the left-arm pacer, was particularly aggressive in the early stages. The competition intensified quickly, with the price tag surging past the Rs 5 crore mark as both franchises sought to bolster their death-bowling options.

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Just as it seemed Chennai might secure him at Rs 5.4 crore, the Kolkata Knight Riders entered the fray and completely shifted the momentum. A high-stakes battle ensued, pushing the bid beyond Rs 7 crore. After a brief strategic consultation between head coach Stephen Fleming and CEO Kasi Viswanathan, CSK made a final push toward the Rs 9 crore mark. However, KKR remained resolute, eventually placing the winning bid of Rs 9.20 crore and forcing Chennai to bow out of the race.

The 30-year-old's IPL journey began in 2016, where he became the first overseas player to win the Emerging Player award while helping his team to a title. Since then, he has represented five different franchises, maintaining a solid IPL record of 65 wickets in 60 games.

KKR full squad for IPL 2026:

Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Mustafizur Rahman, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Akash Deep.