Although the Pakistan Cricket Board acknowledged that Blessing Muzarabani never received a contract to participate in the PSL, they maintained that the Zimbabwean bowler had violated the trust when he joined the Indian Premier League and that a strong verbal agreement had been struck.
Muzarabani was recently banned from the PSL for two years by the PCB on the grounds that he had broken a contract with Islamabad United by joining the Kolkata Knight Riders of the IPL.
He has already participated in two IPL 2026 matches for KKR, taking 4/41 on April 2, 2026, against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In a social media post on Sunday, Rob Humphries, the fast bowler’s agent, blasted the PCB for the ban, claiming his client had neither signed a contract with Islamabad United nor participated in the PSL players auction. According to Humphries, the prohibition was unreasonable and disproportionate.
While acknowledging that no contract was signed with Rabbani, PCB insiders asserted that a clear verbal understanding was made between the two parties.
According to the source, it was also evident in the PCB’s announcement on the ban that the player chose to reject these commitments in favor of a competing agreement, even though there was a clear offer and an unambiguous acceptance of key terms.
According to the PCB source, a legally binding duty is created whenever key terms, such as compensation and structure, are agreed upon through written contact. However, Humphries claimed that after negotiations with Islamabad United started, they made it plain that they couldn’t request for a NOC from Zimbabwe Cricket unless they had a contract.
“We’ve remained quiet publicly over the last six weeks because we did not wish to create or cause anymore animosity for the Pakistan Super League/Pakistan Cricket Board than they had already created for themselves,” Humphries’ statement said.
“[On] 13 February, Blessing [was] approached by Islamabad United about a playing opportunity for the 2026 PSL. The deal [was] agreed subject to obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Zimbabwe Cricket.
“An NOC cannot be obtained without a contract from the PSL. Islamabad United/PSL announced the signing to the world via social media,” it said.
Humphries further asked the PCB to respectfully lift the restriction and acknowledge that this was the result of an administrative error on their part.
For US$40,000, Islamabad had signed Muzarabani to replace West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph.
