LAHORE: Bangladesh fast bow­ler Mustafizur Rahman has registered for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) draft following his release from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The 30-year-old left-arm pacer, known for his variations and death-over bowling, was acquired by Kolkata for INR 9.20 crore in the IPL mini-auction held in December.

He was the only Bangladesh player signed for the season. On Saturday, Kolkata announced his release after receiving instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The decision comes amid strained relations between India and Bangla­desh, linked to reports of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh.

In response, Bangladesh has banned IPL broadcasts in the country and the Bangladesh Cricket Board has requested the ICC to shift its T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka.

Mustafizur, who has played in multiple IPL seasons since 2016 and taken over 60 wickets in the league, previously featured in the PSL for Lahore Qalandars. The PSL has confirmed his registration for the upcoming edition, with the draft expected soon.

TEN PARTIES TO VIE FOR TWO NEW FRANCHISES

With the upcoming season taking shape, as many as 10 parties will bid for two new franchises in an auction set to be held at the Jinnah Conven­tion Centre in Islamabad on Thursday.

The bidder will look to seal the ownership rights of teams to be chosen from among city names Rawal­pindi, Faisalabad, Hyder­abad, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit.

Notable parties, namely VGO Tel, a Karachi based mobile company, Jazz, a telecom company, DSM Tar­een, led by former owner of Multan Sultans Ali Tareen, i2c (Fintech), a global fintech being run by a US-based Pakistani entrepreneur, Walee Tech (Media & Fintech), Prism Developers paired with Exchange ON all are included as bidders.

Moreover, Kingsmen Group (Inves­t­ments) and Aim Next Inc (Tech & Innovation) are also in the run.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2026