Melbourne Renegades have signed Bangladesh left-arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman for the KFC BBL|16 season, after Jason Behrendorff was ruled out of the entire tournament following shoulder surgery.
Renegades head coach Luke Ronchi said Mustafizur was "a proven match-winner in T20 cricket all over the world." "His ability to take wickets in both the Powerplay and at the death is exactly what we wanted in our attack," he said.
"BBL audiences love a player who can change a game in a single over and Mustafizur can do just that," Ronchi said.
Known as "The Fizz" for his accurate cutters and slower deliveries, Mustafizur is 31 and has played 271 internationals for Bangladesh across all formats.
He has taken 423 wickets in 331 T20 matches at a strike rate of 16.9, and has 121 wickets from nine Bangladesh Premier League campaigns.
Mustafizur has played eight Indian Premier League seasons, winning the title with Sunrisers Hyderabad in his debut year in 2016.
In June 2026 he took 3-27 in Mirpur, helping Bangladesh beat Australia 2-0 in a one-day international series.
The deal is Mustafizur's first Big Bash League contract. His only previous experience of Australian cricket was five group games at the 2022 men's T20 World Cup.
He becomes the third Bangladeshi player to appear in the BBL, after Rishad Hossain at the Hobart Hurricanes and Shakib Al Hasan.
Mustafizur said he was looking forward to playing in the competition for the first time. "I am looking forward to playing in the BBL for the first time with the Melbourne Renegades," he said. "It will be special to play at the MCG as my home ground. I'm excited to join my teammates and bring my experience to the squad."
The Renegades have also launched a fan zone at the MCG called "The Fizz Bay," for their January 1 match against the Sydney Sixers and January 16 match against the Melbourne Stars.
The first 200 family tickets bought for those two matches using the promo code FIZZBAY will receive 50 per cent off, an offer the club has aimed at Melbourne's Bangladeshi community.
The signing takes the Renegades to 16 of their 18 roster spots filled for BBL|16. Mustafizur joins England's Jonny Bairstow and New Zealand's Michael Bracewell as the squad's other international players.
Michael Archer and Ben Manenti have also joined the squad. Fergus O'Neill and Tim Seifert have moved to the Sydney Sixers, Will Salzmann has signed with the Sydney Thunder, Andrew Tye has retired and Adam Zampa has joined the Hobart Hurricanes.
Mustafizur will miss the Renegades' BBL|16 opener against the Perth Scorchers in Chennai because of International League T20 commitments with the Dubai Capitals. He is expected to be available for the rest of the tournament and will join the squad in Melbourne afterwards.