Ngarava, Muzarabani make IPL auction list

THE Chevrons’ fast bowling duo of Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani have made the roaster for the Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction to be held in Dubai on Sunday.

This will be the first time the draw is held outside of India.

According to IPL, out of 333 players, 214 are Indians and 119 are from overseas of which two are from associate nations.

The total number of capped players is 116, uncapped are 215 and two are from associate nations.

A maximum of 77 slots are now available with up to 30 being slotted for overseas players. Muzarabani and Ngarava will be hoping to join the growing list of Zimbabwean players who have played in the IPL.

Other players who have had a dance in the big tournament are Sikandar Raza, Tatenda Taibu, Ray Price and former skipper Brendan Taylor.

In 2014, Taylor was signed by the Sunrise Hyderabad but never got to play for the team as he opted to delay traveling to India because of his wedding.

Sunrisers Hyderabad placed him on injury standby and Taylor was never called up.

Muzarabani previously joined IPL side Lucknow Super Giants but only as a net bowler.

Raza has been retained by his side Punjab Kings and is set for his second consecutive appearance in the IPL.

In his debut season, Raza made history by becoming the first Zimbabwean to score a half century and be named player of the match in the IPL. He top scored with 57 runs off 42 deliveries to help Punjab Kings beat Lucknow Super Giants.

Raza took one wicket in two overs for 19 runs as they restricted Super Giants to 158/8 in 20 overs and went on to top score with 57 runs to help his team finish on 161/8 to win it with three balls remaining in the match.

Raza will not be the only Zimbabwean in next year’s edition as he will join former Chevrons skipper and coach, Andy Flower who was named as the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), a team which has the likes of Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis.

The 2024 IPL tournament is set to be played from March 23 to May 29 in India.

— @innocentskizoe