Kolkata Knight Riders signed Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman for Rs 9.20 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi on December 16, 2025. But the left-arm pacer will not feature in the 2026 edition of the world’s richest franchise cricket league after BCCI instructed KKR to release him from their squad due to ‘recent developments’ on Saturday (January 3).
“Due to the recent developments which are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad, and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI.
After removing Mustafizur from
their IPL 2026 squad, KKR will have a chance to sign a replacement player, and there are many top players still up for grabs.
But according to former Kolkata Knight Riders and Bengal wicketkeeper-batter Shreevats Goswami, who also played in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team should sign South Africa’s fast-bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen’s twin brother Duan Jansen as Mustafizur’s replacement.
“Marco Jansen’s brother duan Jansen isn’t a bad replacement option for the @KKRiders. Like for like and also can defo bat better. Get him @KKRiders,” Goswami tweeted.
Marco Jansen’s brother duan Jansen isn’t a bad replacement option for the @KKRiders. Like for like and also can defo bat better. Get him @KKRiders.
— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) January 4, 2026
Duan, like Marco, is also a fast-bowling all-rounder and has also played one IPL match for the Mumbai Indians in 2023.
The 25-year-old cricketer from Klerksdorp is playing for the Joburg Super Kings in SA20 2025-26 these days. In his first match for the Faf du Plessis-led side, he finished with figures of 4 for 23 in four overs against Pretoria Capitals on December 27, 2025, to bag the Player Of The Match award.
Duan, overall, has played 48 T20 matches so far for five teams – Mumbai Indians, MI Cape Town, Joburg Super Kings, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and North West. And in those 48 matches, he has picked up 46 wickets in addition to scoring 329 runs with the bat.
