Blessing Muzarabani’s camp has criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board over being handed a two-year ban from the Pakistan Super League, contending that the Zimbabwe pacer never signed a contract before jumping ship to join the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The PSL’s Islamabad United had earlier acquired Muzarabani for PKR 11 million (approximately ₹36.44 lakh) as a replacement for Shamar Joseph. But he withdrew from the tournament to join the three-time IPL champions KKR for ₹75 lakh. The Zimbabwean seamer replaced Mustafizur Rahman in the squad.
The PCB considered pacer Muzarabani’s withdrawal a breach of commitment, noting that backing out after agreeing to participate undermines the tournament’s integrity.
Following the suspension, Muzarabani’s agency has strongly condemned PCB’s action, claiming that no formal contract was signed between the Zimbabwean pacer and the Islamabad United franchise when he withdrew from PSL.
Muzarabani’s representatives have argued that a formal contract and an NOC from Zimbabwe Cricket were pending when talks with Islamabad United were active. They also claimed that the franchise had prematurely announced Blessing’s arrival over social media before they could put pen to paper on a deal, and that one “cannot breach a contract you have never received.”
“We feel ANY ban on participation in the PSL is incredibly excessive and is not consistent with the punishment given to players that have actually breached a contract in the past. I have never seen a player so publicly admonished and criticised for doing nothing wrong.
“We urge the PSL to gracefully withdraw the ban and accept this situation for what it is, an administrative error at their end, nothing more. We bare no grudges toward the PSL/Islamabad United,” Muzarabani’s agency wrote in a statement on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
Muzarabani has featured in two matches for KKR so far in the ongoing season of the IPL, making a notable impact in his outings and providing strength to KKR’s pace battery. The Zimbabwean pacer put up his best IPL figures in his second outing against SRH, producing a 4/41 spell.
