Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif believes Zimbabwe seamer Blessing Muzarabani would have received a huge amount of INR 20 crores if IPL 2026 auction had been held after the T20 World Cup 2026. However, the IPL 2026 auction took place in December and Muzarabani was not part of the auction.
The lanky pacer has been in rich form in the ongoing T20I showpiece, taking nine wickets in three matches at an average of 7.89. Muzarabani had returned with impressive figures of 4-17 against Australia when Zimbabwe stunned the Men in Yellow by 23 runs.
“It is not an easy thing to defeat Australia and then Sri Lanka in their home. The match against Sri Lanka was a sellout one as well. So, to play in front of that home ground, and on a slow pitch, where Pakistan struggled to chase 176, Zimbabwe chased down 179. Zimbabwe showed how to play on that pitch,” Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel
Kaif said Muzarabani will be the target of IPL teams in the future auction.
“Blessing Muzarabani is an exceptional bowler. He will be targetted by IPL franchises in the future. He bowls in every phase of the game, with the new ball and the old. He is six foot eight inches, he also has height. If the IPL Auction was held after the World Cup, and the way Muzarabani is bowling now, I can tell you with guarantee that he would have fetched at least 20 crores in the IPL Auction. He is unlucky that the IPL Auction is already done,” he said of the in-form bowler.
The former UP batter said Muzarabani could do a better job than Australia’s gun fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who had earlier bagged INR 24.75 crore in the auction.
“We have seen these Australian and New Zealand bowlers for a long time now, earning a lot of money. What has Starc done? Sure, he won those 2 important games for KKR. Remove those 2 matches, and check the other matches, he has been hit for runs in those. Whenever he has played for Delhi, he has been hit for a lot of runs. Muzarabani could do a better job than Starc,” Kaif added.
Zimbabwe will begin their Super 8 stage against the West Indies on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
