Delhi Capitals signed Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman for the remainder of the IPL 2025 season, slated to begin on May 17. He replaced Jake Fraser-McGurk in the DC squad, who confirmed his unavailability on Tuesday, May 13.
Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman has penned a short deal with Delhi Capitals for the remainder of the IPL 2025. He will replace Jake Fraser-McGurk in the squad. The opener was bought for INR 9 crore in the auction but failed to live up to expectations. The 24-year-old made 55 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 105.76 before being dropped from the playing XI. He was reportedly disturbed following the cross-border tension between India and Pakistan and eventually decided to opt out of the remainder of the cash-rich league.
Delhi didn’t waste much time and announced the signing of Mustafizur. He has been signed for INR 6 crore. The 29-year-old has played 57 matches in the IPL, clinching 61 wickets at an economy rate of 8.14. Representing Chennai Super Kings last year, Mustafizur had a good campaign, picking up 14 wickets in nine. He has previously represented Delhi in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
DC signing Mustafizur also indicates that Mitchell Starc might not be available for the playoffs. The Australia international returned home after the cross-border tension, and it is now unclear whether he will be available for the remainder of the season, given that the World Test Championship (WTC) final is around the corner. Given that Dushmantha Chameera is very likely to be available, signing a pacer instead of a batter seems odd unless Starc’s unavailability.
Meanwhile, Delhi won’t have the option to retain Mustafizur for the next season. BCCI officials have allowed all the franchises to sign replacement players, but clarified that these players won’t be available for retentions ahead of the next edition. However, if the franchises had signed a player ahead of the suspension of the league, they would be in contention for retention.
If Starc or Tristan Stubbs remain unavailable for Delhi for the remainder of the season, the franchise can sign their replacements as well.
