Former India opener Aakash Chopra has identified prospective abroad possibilities to replace Mustafizur Rahman for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the IPL 2026 season (via his X handle). The franchise signed the Bangladesh pacer for ₹9.2 crore in the IPL 2026 auction to strengthen their death bowling.
However, amid political upheaval in India and Bangladesh, Mustafizur was released by KKR on January 3rd. Nonetheless, it was announced that the franchise would be permitted to sign a replacement for the discharged seamer.
Aakash Chopra presented seven foreign pace bowling possibilities and one spin bowling option for KKR to consider as Mustafizur’s replacement. The former Indian hitter selected New Zealand’s Nathan Smith, South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee, Australia’s Sean Abbott and Riley Meredith, England’s Richard Gleeson and Gus Atkinson, and the West Indies’ Alzarri Joseph as pace bowlers.
Chopra also encouraged KKR to explore New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell as a possibility if Sunil Narine is sidelined for a few matches due to injury.
KKR had a disastrous 2025 season, finishing eighth in the standings after their spectacular title run in 2024.
How Aakash Chopra’s replacement options have fared in the IPL
These stats are quite commendable (for T20 as a whole), however we should not forget that Aakash Chopra’s 8 possible replacements for Mustafizur Rahman hardly have played any IPL cricket. Smith has never played in the IPL, while his New Zealand team-mate Michael Bracewell has featured only five times for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The Australians Abbott and Meredith have played 21 matches between them in the IPL. The latter has represented two franchises, RCB and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), across three games.
Meredith, meanwhile, has played 18 IPL matches for both the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings.
Alzarri Joseph comes into the auction having played 22 games across three franchises – RCB, MI and Gujarat Titans. Coetzee has featured in 14 IPL matches, for MI and GT.
Atkinson and Gleeson of England have at least played together in three IPL games. Although the former is still to take part in IPL, the latter has played 3 with MI and CSK.
