The Phase 1 schedule of the IPL 2026 was released by the BCCI earlier this week. Due to the upcoming elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam, the board decided to plan the IPL schedule in two phases.
Defending champions RCB will kick off the IPL 2026 on Saturday, March 28, by hosting SRH in Bengaluru. Further, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders will hog the limelight on Sunday, March 29, with their clash at the Wankhede Stadium.
The Phase 1 schedule is for the first 20 matches, running from March 28 to April 12.
Meanwhile, an important decision has been made by KKR, that of the replacement for Mustafizur Rahman.
Why did KKR release Mustafizur Rahman?
In the IPL 2026 auction in December, KKR had bought Mustafizur for INR 9.2 crore. However, in January, the BCCI “instructed” KKR to release Mustafizur because of the geopolitical tension between India and Bangladesh.
This was amid the uproar in the news and media following the attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
The release of Mustafizur by KKR had a huge snowball effect, which resulted in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) opting out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026!
IPL 2026: Who Has Replaced Mustafizur Rahman In KKR KKR squad?
KKR have picked Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani as a replacement player for Mustafizur for IPL 2026. Muzarabani had gone unsold in the IPL auction and then was roped in by Islamabad United for the PSL 2026.
Now, after being called up by KKR, Muzarabani informed Islamabad of his decision to withdraw from the PSL. Mustafizur, on the other hand, will play in the PSL after being signed by Lahore Qalandars following his release from KKR.
Muzarabani has attractive attributes: a tall pacer who can bowl at 140 KPH speeds. Importantly, it was his performance in the recent ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka that would have made a compelling case.
During the T20 World Cup 2026, Muzarabani claimed 13 wickets in only six matches as Zimbabwe registered victories over Sri Lanka and Australia in the group stage; he took six wickets combined in those two matches.
Muzarabani finished the tournament as the joint-second-highest wicket-taker, with only the Indian pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy picking up more wickets than the Zimbabwean.
Meanwhile, KKR is currently fretting over injuries to Matheesha Pathirana and Harshit Rana.
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