"It was my childhood dream" - Blessing Muzarabani after getting picked by Lucknow Super Giants for IPL 2022

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)'s Zimbabwe speedster Blessing Muzarabani has said that it has been his 'childhood dream' to play in the IPL.

The 25-year-old has been roped in by the new franchise as Mark Wood's replacement ahead of IPL 2022. In the process, Muzarabani has become the only Zimbabwe player to be a part of the 15th edition of the competition and the first to grace the IPL in eight years.

Reacting to recent developments, Muzarabani revealed that it was his 'childhood dream' to play in the IPL, posting on Twitter:

"Thanks to @LucknowIPL for giving me the great opportunity to play @IPL; it was my childhood dream, I am very happy now my dream will come true. very Excited for playing the world's biggest cricket league #IPL2022 | #IPL"

Muzarabani has been signed for an undisclosed amount. He has so far represented Zimbabwe in 30 ODIs and 21 T20Is, picking up 64 wickets in total. The tall and lanky fast bowler also has 19 Test wickets in six games.

The Zimbabwean replaces Wood, who was acquired for Rs. 7.5 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction last month. The English pacer suffered an elbow injury during the first Test against the West Indies. He bowled only 17 overs in the game and had to walk off the ground holding his elbow in pain. Wood was later ruled out of the remaining two Tests and the IPL.

Muzarabani will join the likes of Avesh Khan, Dusmantha Chameera, Ankit Rajpoot and Varun Aaron to strengthen Lucknow's pace battery.

View the IPL winners list here.

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"The franchise is new, but the players aren't" - Gautam Gambhir on Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow Super Giants' mentor Gautam Gambhir is upbeat about his IPL team's chances despite featuring in the IPL for the first time. Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2012 and 2014, said that the players are ready for the challenge.

Speaking to Republic India, Gambhir said:

"Not going to be, and we expect that as well. It is a good challenge to have. And the good part about this is that obviously the players will be excited from the scratch, which is obviously a huge advantage when they do not have a baggage to carry. And they can be a part of legacy and history as well. The franchise is new, but the players aren't. They have all played for one franchise or another."

Gambhir added that Lucknow Super Giants squad boasts a good blend of youth and experience.

"Any good recipe is about having the experience: youth plus energy. The moment all our players are available, imagine all 11 players are international stars. How many franchises have that? What better for the owner, the mentor and for the chairman as well?"

He continued:

"There are very few franchises that have 11 international players. We have got four overseas players, but the rest of the seven are all international players, which is a great thing to have. We have got a mix of everything."

Lucknow Super Giants will begin their IPL 2022 schedule against Gujarat Titans on Monday, March 28.