Suspense looms over this star fast bowler, who was bought by KKR for Rs 9.20 crore, may miss the opening match of IPL 2026.

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 18, 2025

A total of 369 players went up for auction in the IPL 2026 mini auction held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16, out of which a total of 77 slots were filled. In this auction, most eyes were on Kolkata Knight Riders, who landed with the biggest purse value of Rs 63.4 crore.

As expected, KKR played a big bet in the auction and included Cameron Green for Rs 25.20 crore, Mathisha Pathirana for Rs 18 crore and Bangladesh’s experienced left arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman for Rs 9.20 crore. With the entry of these three foreign players, the Knight Riders squad suddenly started looking very strong.

However, in the meantime, KKR may suffer a slight setback. According to a report in India Today, Bangladesh Cricket Board Director and Cricket Operations Committee Chairman Nazmul Abedin Fahim has indicated that Mustafizur Rahman may miss some matches of IPL 2026 due to international duty.

Actually, IPL 2026 is expected to be held between March 26 and May 31. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has to play an important three-match ODI series against New Zealand from 16 to 23 April. In such a situation, Mustafizur Rahman will not be available for KKR at that time and may be out of one or two matches.

At present, neither KKR nor Bangladesh Cricket Board has given any official confirmation in this matter. But Bangladesh is worried about direct qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup, hence the presence of an experienced bowler like Mustafizur is considered very important for them.

It is also worth noting that in the IPL 2026 mini auction, Mustafizur Rahman was the only Bangladeshi player who was bought by a franchise. In such a situation, only KKR may have to face the problem of absence of Bangladeshi players.

30-year-old Mustafizur Rahman started his IPL journey in 2016 and till now has played for five different franchises and has 65 wickets in his name in 60 matches.