Mustafizur Rahman in IPL (Source: AFP)
In a significant development in the sub-continental cricket diaspora, Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was axed from the IPL due to geopolitical tensions between India and Bangladesh. After a string of objections from Indian cricket fans on Bangladesh players’ presence in the IPL, the BCCI had to remove Mustafizur Rahman from the 2026 edition.
The BCCI asked IPL franchise KKR to release the experienced Bangladesh pacer from their IPL 2026 squad. Furthermore, the board allowed KKR to request a replacement. The BCCI’s decision also seems to affect the future of bilateral cricket relations between India and Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, after being excluded from the IPL, Mustafizur Rahman might register for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the 2026 edition. That said, here is a look at the PSL teams that can pick him in the PSL 2026 draft. Mustafizur Rahman's potential PSL appearance also becomes interesting as both the rival leagues (PSL and IPL) will be played in the same window.
Quetta Gladiators - The Mustafizur Rahman-Mohammad Amir combo
The two-time PSL champions, Quetta Gladiators have a mix of both youth in Mohammad Zeeshan and experience in Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Wasim, Kyle Jamieson. However, their pace-attack heavily relies on the veteran pacer Mohammad Amir.
Amir can restrict runs or pick wickets in the powerplay phase of the innings. But the leak of runs in the middle overs and the lack of peak death overs are points where they could lose control of the game.
Mustafizur Rahman in death overs in T20S
| Criterion | Data |
| Innings | 155 |
| Overs | 266.2 |
| Wickets | 124 |
| Economy Rate | 8.56 |
| Strike Rate | 12.90 |
| 4w/5w | 1/0 |
| BBI | 4/19 |
Picking Mustafizur Rahman could be the best fit as a lead death bowler, alongside being a controller in the middle overs. Out of 226 wickets in his 11-year-long T20 career, Mustafizur has scalped 124 wickets while bowling in the death overs. He also has a decent bowling strike rate of 12.9 in the death overs.
Notably, he has bowled the most number of overs (266.2) in the death phase out of his T20 career's total of 637.4 overs.
The combo of Amir and Fizz could be a game-changer for the Gladiators, helping them achieve favourable bowling results in PSL 2026. Following Amir’s impact in the powerplay, Mustafizur’s ability to choke runs in middle overs and pick wickets in death overs could produce results for the Gladiators.
Islamabad United - Strategic Fit
Islamabad United’s pace attack heavily relied on the pace-bowling all-rounder Jason Holder and young pacer Naseem Shah during PSL 2025. The Holder-Naseem duo played the most matches, which, somewhere, exposed the lack of wicket-taking pacers in their mix.
Therefore, Mustafizur Rahman’s addition could ease the burden off Jason Holder and Naseem Shah. His wicket-taking ability might add value to the pace attack in the middle-over phase of the innings from the overs 7 to 15. Mustafizur has been quite impactful in the middle overs during his T20 career so far.
Mustafizur Rahman in the middle overs in T20S
| Criterion | Data |
| Innings | 126 |
| Overs | 162.2 |
| Wickets | 47 |
| Economy Rate | 6.92 |
| Strike Rate | 20.7 |
| 4w/5w | 0/0 |
| BBI | 3/6 |
Out of his 226 T20 wickets, he has scalped 47 wickets in 126 innings. The 30-year-old has an economy of 6.92 in the middle overs, including the best performance of ‘three wickets for just six runs’ in an innings. He has bowled 162.2 overs in the middle overs out of his overs T20 career's 637.4 overs.
So, he might be a vital cog in the wheel for the United in their quest for the third PSL title after winning their last title in the 2024 edition.
Karachi Kings - Situational Requirement
The PSL 2020 champions Karachi Kings seem to have a bit of a struggle in their pace attack despite having the wicket-takers in Hasan Ali and Abbas Afridi. The Hasan-Abbas duo’s expensive economy could still be a headache in both powerplay and the middle overs in the upcoming PSL 2026.
In PSL 2025, Abbas Afridi and Hasan Ali were the top two leading wicket-takers for the Kings, picking 17 wickets each. But their economy rates were quite expensive, with Afridi leaking runs at 10.26, followed by Hasan Ali at 9.04.
The gap in the Kings’ pace attack can be underscored by the fact that their third leading wicket-taker in PSL 2025 was a spinner, Mir Hamza. Besides that, the difference between him and the Hasan-Abbas duo was seven wickets.
Hence, Mustafizur Rahman could be a great situational fit for Karachi Kings’ pace attack. Following a pace-spin combination of Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali, Fizz could bring a lot to the table with his middle-over bowling. It includes his abilities, such as controlling the run rate and picking crucial wickets in the middle overs.
Besides that, he can also share the responsibility as an economical bowler with Abbas Afridi in the death overs to provide the latter a cushion amidst the leak of runs.
