Mustafizur Rahman set to miss eight IPL days as he returns for New Zealand ODIs

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials said on Thursday that the upcoming series against Pakistan, comprising two Tests and three ODIs, will be split around the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in March.

Pakistan were initially scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is in March. However, the T20Is have been dropped from the itinerary as the teams already played a three-match T20I series in June as part of their bilateral commitments.

According to Cricbuzz, Bangladesh have proposed that Pakistan play the three ODIs before the PSL, with the Test series to be completed in May after the conclusion of the league. Meanwhile, Mustafizur Rahman, who was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders, will not be available for the entirety of the Indian Premier League due to Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan insisted that Mustafizur would return for an eight-day window during the IPL and be available for the ODI series against New Zealand, a series Bangladesh are desperate to win to secure direct qualification for the next World Cup.

"It (remaining part of Pakistan series) has to be in two parts (before and after PSL)," BCB cricket operation chairman Nazmul told on Wednesday as quoted by Cricbuzz.

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Bangladesh are currently placed 10th in the ICC ODI rankings and have played just nine bilateral ODIs in 2025, managing only three wins. With direct qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa at stake, Bangladesh must climb back into the top eight of the rankings.

"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. One is that yes, he will be in a T20 environment and coming back to play ODIs, we can say there may be a transition period. At the same time, the level at which he will be playing and the competitive environment he will be in can also allow him to contribute more after returning,” said Nazmul.

"So we considered all the pros and cons and felt that his presence is important for us. With our existing strength, having him makes the team stronger, and that is the consideration behind this decision. We took a very risky decision when we lost the series against the UAE in the UAE, because at that time we released Mustafizur for the IPL. After his IPL performance, the massive change that came in Mustafizur, we benefited from that later. It's true that we took a risk and we lost the T20 series against the UAE. I think we need to take some risks. If we think about the future, about building a good future, we have to take these risks, and they will return positively for us at some point," he added.