Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani is all set to join Lucknow Super Giants for IPL 2022. The tall and lanky fast bowler will replace England quick Mark Wood in the squad.

The English pacer copped up an elbow injury during the 1st Test against West Indies and had to walk out of the ground holding his elbow in utter pain. He was eventually ruled out of the series and later revealed that Mark Wood will miss the IPL.

Earlier it was reported that Lucknow Super Giants were keen on having Taskin Ahmed onboard but Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to give him NOC given they have important series lined-up.

As a result, the newly-added franchise had to look for different options and zeroed on Blessing Muzarabani, who will be first cricketer from Zimbabwe to feature in IPL in eight years.

The Indian consulate in Zimbabwe met with the cricketer and congratulated him for his stint in India before he left the country. They shared a picture on Twitter and wrote:

“Ambassador met with Mr Blessing Muzarabani, the Zimbabwean bowler, as he prepared to leave for #IPL2022. Ambassador wished him & his team #LucknowSuperGiants the very best.”

Ambassador met with Mr Blessing Muzarabani, the Zimbabwean bowler, as he prepared to leave for #IPL2022.

Ambassador wished him & his team #LucknowSuperGiants the very best. #IndiaAt75 @IndianDiplomacy @MEAIndia @iccr_hq pic.twitter.com/8AMPO9Xbyd

— India in Zimbabwe (@IndiainZimbabwe) March 21, 2022

The 25-year-old Blessing Muzarabani has represented Zimbabwe in 21 T20Is, scalping 25 wickets at an economy of 7.99 runs per over.

He also has had stints in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), plying trade for Multan Sultans. Muzarabani will hope to work his magic with the ball if an opportunity comes his way.

Lucknow Super Giants have only Dusmantha Chameera as out and out overseas fast bowler. The likes of Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis will chip in with some overs in the middle-period.

As of now, Chameera looks the front-runner to partner with Avesh Khan when Lucknow set out for their first-ever IPL game against Gujarat Titans on March 28.

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The post IPL 2022: Lucknow Super Giants Sign Blessing Muzarabani As Mark Wood’s Replacement – Reports appeared first on Cricfit.

In a major blow to the Lucknow Super Giants franchise, pace bowler Mark Wood is reportedly out of the Indian Premier League 2022 season due to an injury. He was signed by the franchise for INR 7.5 crores at the auctions.

Mark Wood sustained an elbow injury during the first Test match against West Indies in Antigua, last week. He missed the following test match, at Barbados. Wood’s injury is believed to take more time to heal, which rules him out of the upcoming IPL 2022 season, as reported by Espncricinfo.

Mark Wood is ruled out of IPL 2022#IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/8kS7NkFv6I

— CricFit (@CricFit) March 18, 2022

Mark Wood’s doubtful participation comes as a major blow to Lucknow Super Giants.  With the tournament less than 10-days away, the franchise will be looking for a potential replacement.

In this article, we take a look at three players who can replace Mark Wood in the Lucknow Super Giants squad.

1. Reece Topley

Reece Topley went unsold at the IPL auctions for his base price of 75 lakhs. He could be signed by the Lucknow Super Giants as Mark Wood’s replacement. The left-arm pacer is yet to make his debut in the Indian Premier League.

However, Reece has good T20 experience under his belt, having played 104 T20 matches. He has 131 wickets at an average of 22.16. The tall lanky pace could be lethal in the slog overs, with his fearsome yorkers.

2. Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye made his Indian Premier League debut in 2017 and impressed everyone straightaway. He took five wickets,  in four overs, conceding 17 runs at an economy rate of 4.25.

The following year, he played for the Punjab Kings and won the Purple Cap, as he took 24 wickets in 14 games. However, Andrew Tye had a below-par 2019 IPL season. The pacer could get a chance to revive his IPL career if the Lucknow Super Giants sign him as Mark Wood’s replacement.

3. Blessing Muzarabani

Blessing Muzarabani’s natural pace could prove to be an asset for the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022. His height also gets him a good bounce off the surface, which can trouble the batters. The Zimbabwean pacer is yet to play in the Indian Premier League. He has 21 T20Is for Zimbabwe so far, taking 25 wickets at an average of 26.12.

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Bangladesh comfortably won the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe. However, the face-off between Blessing Muzarabani and Taskin Ahmed was the one that stole the limelight.

On day two of the Test match, Bangladeshi tailender Taskin Ahmed successfully left a delivery off Blessing Muzarabani and followed it up by showing off his dances moves. This irritated the Zimbabwe pacer, who charged up to Taskin and started staring at him.

https://twitter.com/shihabahsankhan/status/1413043482877329409?s=20

Both Muzarabani and Taskin were fined 15 percent of their match fees for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct and one demerit point was added to their disciplinary records.

Blessing Muzarabani gave it back to Taskin during the 93rd over of Zimbabwe’s innings. He hit Taskin Ahmed for a boundary at the deep mid-wicket fence. Muzarabani then danced on the pitch copying Taskin’s moves. The video soon went viral on social media. Muzarbani’s dance moves have left everyone impressed.

https://twitter.com/ChangeofPace414/status/1414204523120316418?s=20

Bangladesh win by 220 runs

Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque won the toss and chose to bat first at the Harare Sports Club. Mahmudullah who is playing his 50th test match celebrated the occasion by scoring an unbeaten 150. Wicket-keeper batsman Liton Das missed out on his hundred by just five runs.

Mominul Haque and Taskin Ahmed also contributed 70 and 75 each to take Bangladesh to 468. For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani picked up three wickets.

Except for the top three, the rest of the Zimbabwe batting line-up failed to get going and ended up with after the end of their first innings. On the back of Shadman Islam’s 115 and Shanto’s 117 Bangladesh declared their innings on 284/1. Zimbabwe needed  477 to win but succumbed to just 256 runs. Brendan Taylor’s 92 runs and Tiripano’s 52 runs went in vain as the rest of the batting line-up collapsed.

The Bangladesh team gave Mahmudullah a guard of honour for playing his 50th Test match. Mahmudullah has reportedly announced his retirement from Test cricket after this match.

The post Watch: Blessing Muzarabani Copies Taskin Ahmed’s Dance Moves On The Pitch appeared first on Cricfit.

Bangladesh’s Taskin Ahmed and Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani got involved in an intense stare-down during the first innings. The two nations are currently battling in a one-off Test in Harare. This will be followed by a white-ball series.

On Day 1 of the Test, Bangladesh managed to recover from a precarious position. They were in trouble at 132/6 before a rearguard act from Liton Das and Mahmudullah took them to 294 at the end of the day’s play. The former fell 5 runs short of a well-deserved century.

Bangladesh began Day 2 on a fabulous note. They scored runs at a quick rate and managed to go wicketless in the first hour. In the latest development, they went into lunch at 404/8. While Mahmudullah carried on from his overnight score to score a century, Taskin Ahmed struck his maiden fifty.

There was a dropped chance that went begging early in the day. Apart from that, the Zimbabwean attack has looked fairly toothless.

Taskin Ahmed pulls out a dance move in front of Muzarabani

One incident stood out in the first session. Taskin Ahmed seemed like he was enjoying himself on the field. In the 85th over bowled by Blessing Muzarabani, Taskin showcased some unseen stuff. After playing out a rising delivery, he immediately broke into a dance move. It came out rather beautifully, but the bowler didn’t like it one bit.

Muzarabani walked up to Taskin after his delivery stride and looked down into Taskin’s eyes. Muzarabani also looked like he was trying to do something indescribable with his mouth. Not one to back down, Taskin gave it back and the two had a heated exchange in the middle.

Watch here:

https://twitter.com/shihabahsankhan/status/1413043482877329409?s=20

Later on, there were a few other moments where Mahmudullah also lost his cool. The match is at an intense stage and clearly, neither of the teams wants to reel it in since there is a lot of pride at stake.

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