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New Delhi: Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman will travel back home for eight days in the midst of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 to play a white-ball series against New Zealand.
The left-arm pacer became the most expensive Bangladesh player in the history of the IPL after being signed by Kolkata for 9.20 crore rupees at the IPL auction on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
Though the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has provided NOC to Mustafizur for the full IPL, he will be unavailable briefly from the tournament, which runs from March 26 to May 31.
New Zealand will tour Bangladesh in April for three ODIs and as many Twenty20 international matches.
BCB's cricket operations chief, Nazmul Abedin, confirmed that Mustafizur would return to Bangladesh specifically to play the 50-over series and is expected to miss eight days of the IPL.
"We have given Mustafizur an NOC for the entire IPL. He will only return to play for the national team during the New Zealand ODI series, which consists of three matches. He will return for eight days to play the ODI series," said Nazmul.
Bangladesh's decision to recall Mustafizur is driven by its quest to qualify directly for the ODI World Cup. With only nine top teams in the ICC rankings by February 15, 2027, earning direct entry, Bangladesh, ranked 10th currently, desperately want to move up in the rankings and to achieve that, they will need the services of their best bowler.
Bangladesh have managed just three victories in nine bilateral ODIs in 2025, and with direct qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa at stake, the Bangla Tigers must climb back into the top eight of the rankings.
Nazmul also said that playing in IPL might help Mustafizur to perform well at the international level and dismissed concerns about the switch from the T20 intensity of the IPL to ODIs.
