Kolkata Knight Riders have confirmed the signing of Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani ahead of the 19th season of the Indian Premier League that kicks off on March 28.
KKR fans have been expecting his signing for the last few days. The 29-year-old right-arm medium pacer comes in as a replacement for Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman, who had been dropped by the IPL franchise in January earlier this year on account of the political tensions between India and Bangladesh.
“The 6 ft 8” right-arm quick has emerged as one of Zimbabwe’s leading pace bowlers in the shortest format, known for his steep bounce and ability to strike in key phases of the innings. Muzarabani brings significant T20 experience, having claimed over 90 wickets in more than 80 T20 Internationals at an average of around 21, with best figures of 3/8,” a KKR media release said on Friday.
“His pace and consistency across global leagues and international cricket add further depth to KKR’s pace attack heading into the season.”
Boy, was he good in the T20 World Cup!
Muzarabani recently impressed for Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka. He took 13 wickets in all, in six matches, and in the big matches that Zimbabwe won against Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka, he was particularly impressive.
His figures of 4/17 were largely the reason why Australia couldn’t chase down a modest target. And then against Sri Lanka, on what appeared a belter of a wicket, he returned figures of 2/38. Even against India, where Sikandar Raza’s men were taken to the cleaners, he had returned 1/43 in a match in which Suryakumar Yadav’s team scored 256 runs, the second highest team total ever in the history of the T20 World Cup.
However, it’s not clear how much KKR will pay the fast bowler for his services in the upcoming season. He is expected to arrive in India on March 17.
KKR kick off their campaign on March 29 as they travel to play five-time IPL Champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Thereafter they play Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2 at home, at the Eden Gardens. KKR play their next two matches also at home on April 6 and April 9, against Punjab Kings and Lucknow Supergiants respectively. The rest of their schedule is not announced as yet.
The IPL recently announced the schedule for only 16 days. It is waiting for the Election Commission to announce the assembly elections dates for Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam first.
