RCB Signs Blessing Muzarabani as Replacement for Lungi Ngidi for Remainder of IPL 2025. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have brought in Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani as a replacement for South African pacer Lungi Ngidi for the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Ngidi is heading back to South Africa to fulfill national duties.
Ngidi has been named in South Africa’s squad for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final, where they will take on Australia at Lord’s in London. The highly anticipated final is scheduled to begin on June 11, but the South African team will travel to England in advance to prepare for the match.
In IPL 2025, Ngidi featured in just one game for RCB, where he impressed with a three-wicket haul and maintained an economy rate of 7.50. RCB have signed Muzarabani as his replacement for INR 75 lakhs, and he is set to join the playing squad from May 26.
IPL 2025: Who is Blessing Muzarabani?
Blessing Muzarabani is a right-arm fast bowler from Zimbabwe who has represented his country in all three formats of the game. So far, he has played 12 Test matches, 55 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 70 T20 Internationals.
In Test cricket, Muzarabani has taken 51 wickets in 19 innings at an impressive average of 21.84, including three five-wicket hauls. In ODIs, he has claimed 69 wickets at an average of 32.12. In the T20I format, he has taken 78 wickets with an economy rate of 7.03.
He made his international debut in 2017 and has since been a regular part of Zimbabwe’s squad across formats. Despite his international experience, Muzarabani has yet to feature in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match.
However, he is active in various other T20 franchise leagues around the world. Muzarabani has played in tournaments such as the International League T20 (ILT20), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and Pakistan Super League (PSL). In his overall T20 career, he has featured in 118 matches and picked up 127 wickets at an economy rate of 7.24.