Having released Mustafizur Rahman, Kolkata Knight Riders are now entitled to pick a replacement player for IPL 2026.
KKR had acquired Mustafizur for INR 9.2 crore at the auction. However, following the BCCI’s instructions, they had to release him. Bangladesh have since refused to play their T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India, and have banned IPL telecast in the country.
Meanwhile, KKR are entitled to pick a replacement for Mustafizur, for which here are five options. It is very likely that whoever they pick will not start the 2026 IPL, for KKR already have Matheesha Pathirana, a excellent death bowler with proven success in the IPL.
Fazalhaq Farooqi (base price: INR 1 crore)
A left-arm seamer like Mustafizur, Farooqi is a like-for-like replacement but also not quite: unlike Mustafizur, whose skills at the death have few parallels, Farooqi predominantly bowls early in the innings. A much sought-after cricketer across franchises, he was the joint-highest wicket-taker at the 2024 T20 World Cup. He had a reasonable stint for Sunrisers Hyderabad (eight wickets, economy 8.96), but was visibly below par for Rajasthan Royals in 2025.
Gerald Coetzee (base price: INR 2 crore)
Picking Coetzee may be risky, for he has not played since his pectoral muscle injury in October. However, he can conjure up serious pace, while being capable of providing cameos down the order. From 14 IPL games (10 for Mumbai Indians in 2024, four for Gujarat Titans in 2025), he has 15 wickets while going at 10.37 an over.
Kyle Jamieson (base price: INR 2 crore)
Jamieson had burst into the international scenario just before the lockdown. By 2021, he was being touted as a future star, but injuries restricted his career. When on song, however, he is still a threat, using his height to extract steep bounce and chipping in with valuable runs. From 13 IPL matches (nine for RCB in 2021, four for Punjab Kings in 2025), he has 14 wickets at an economy of 9.67.
Richard Gleeson (base price: 75 lakh)
Indian fans would remember Gleeson’s T20I debut when, in the space of four balls, he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant. That was in 2022, but his IPL career has so far been restricted to three games (two for CSK, one for MI). He has been in excellent form in the ongoing edition of the SA20, with figures of 4-0-33-2, 2.1-0-2-3, and 4-0-41-3.
Akash Madhwal (base price: INR 30 lakh)
Madhwal became an IPL star when he rocked the Lucknow Super Giants with a five-wicket haul in the 2023 Eliminator. He did not impress as much in 2024, and MI released him. However, he ended IPL 2025 on a high when he took 3-29 to help Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings.
