Kamal Ghorui
Pakistan Super League (PSL) defending champions Lahore Qalandars have signed Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman as a direct pick for the next season of the league.Mustafizur, who had earlier represented the franchise in 2016 and 2018, will return to Lahore Qalandars for the 2026 season. He has been signed for PKR 6.44 crore.“Once a Qalandar, always a Qalandar. Mustafizur is not just a player; he’s a brother, a key part of our family who never left,” owner of Lahore Qalandars, Sameen Rana was quoted as saying by Pakistan news outlet ASports.“We are thrilled to welcome him back to our dressing room. His talent, experience, and dedication will be invaluable as we aim to defend our title and make a statement in PSL 11.”Mustafizur has played 15 Tests, 116 ODIs and 126 T20Is for Bangladesh and has taken a total of 366 wickets across formats.The 30-year-old has also featured extensively in franchise cricket around the world. He has picked up 412 wickets in 322 matches at an average of 21.03.His move to Lahore Qalandars comes after a difficult period in recent weeks. Mustafizur was released by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders last month.KKR had bought him for Rs 9.20 crore at the IPL auction after bids from Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals. The BCCI did not provide detailed reasons for the decision and only said it was due to “the developments all around”.Following this, Bangladesh banned the broadcast of the IPL in the country. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also declined to send its team to India, which later resulted in Bangladesh being excluded from the tournament after the ICC rejected its request to move its T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka.Bangladesh were later replaced by Scotland in the tournament.
