After increasing political pressure on BCCI to ban Mustafizur Rahman and restrict the participation of Bangladeshi players in IPL, BCCI has finally issued instructions to Kolkata Knight Riders to replace the Bangladeshi fast bowler from their team.
Kolkata Knight Riders bought Mustafizur Rahman for Rs 9.20 crore in the IPL 2026 mini-auction. He has played for many franchises in the IPL such as he has played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and finally Chennai Super Kings.
BCCI issues instructions for replacement of Mustafizur Rahman from KKR
Mustafizur Rahman, who played for Delhi Capitals last season, replaced Jake Fraser-McGurk from the Capitals team. The BCCI succumbed to the pressure from India’s political leaders and public and hence issued a directive to release him from the team before the IPL.
Mustafizur Rahman has been released by the Knight Riders management, and hence, he will be allowed to join other players who can take his place in the KKR team.
Top 7 fast bowlers who can replace Mustafizur Rahman for KKR:
7. Naveen Ul Haq
Afghan fast bowler Naveen Ul Haq has played in IPL for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2023 and 2024. The fast bowler has taken 25 wickets in the history of IPL. He remained unsold in the last auction and the recent mini-auction as well. This fast bowler can be useful for KKR and will be a good replacement for Mustafizur Rahman in the death overs.
6. Alzarri Joseph
West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph became famous for his brilliant performance in the IPL. Making his IPL debut in 2019, he took 6 wickets in a single game for Mumbai Indians. Later in 2022 and 2023, he played for Gujarat Titans and took 7 wickets in each season. Joseph is also a great replacement option for the Knights.
5. William O’Rourke
New Zealand’s lanky fast bowler William O’Rourke is emerging as a white-ball talent. Rourke played as a replacement for Lucknow Supergiants in the IPL last season. The young fast bowler is quick and can bowl cleverly with the new ball for Kolkata Knight Riders.
4. Gerald Coetzee
South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee has not been named in the ICC T20 World Cup squad but he could make the Kolkata Knight Riders squad as a replacement for the Bangladesh star. Coetzee played for Gujarat Titans last season but conceded too many runs and was unsold in the auction due to his unprofitable spell.
3. Shamar Joseph
West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph has been out of action due to injury since the home series against Australia. Shamar Joseph was a part of the Lucknow Super Giants camp last season, but did not get enough chances to make it to the IPL. Joseph remained unsold in the 2026 player auction and if he recovers from injury, he can replace Mustafizur in the KKR camp.
2. Fazalhaq Farooqui
In this list of pacers, Fazalhaq Farooqui is the best possible option to replace Bangladesh fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqui. Farooqui played for Rajasthan Royals last season and in the few chances he got, he proved to be a very effective and economical bowler. Farooqui can be a similar replacement to Mustafizur Rahman.
1. Tom Curran
England bowling all-rounder Tom Curran has not played for England for a long time, but despite this he has proved to be an extraordinary talent in the T20 league. He has performed very well in the last few years in CPL, BBL, ILT20 and The Hundred or any other league. Curran can prove to be impressive with both bat and ball, which could be beneficial for the Knight Riders.
Also Read: Mustafizur Rahman shares emotional message publicly as BCCI forces KKR to drop him from the squad
