Glamourless BPL set to curtain-up tomorrow
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Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is back with the thrill of T20 cricket as the ninth edition of this Franchise Cricket League will be screened next Friday. The winner of this year's BPL will be answered on February 16.
However, the organization of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has once again become the focus of debate.
BCB director and Khulna Tigers coach Khaled Mahmud who spoke on Tuesday about a lack of effort to implement a revenue sharing model that would have made the BPL more profitable for franchise owners, this time the criticism came from a player.
And then Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who ripped into the BPL with his comments, which were tainted by serious organizational issues.
The absence of DRS in this year's BPL calls the tournament's seriousness into question. Because of the rise of T20 franchise leagues, such as the most recent in Dubai, foreign players have found more lucrative places to showcase their talents, which inevitably draws attention from IPL teams.
In short, the BPL is quite some way down the ladder among T20 franchise leagues.
Before the start of the BPL, the team of seven franchises are discussed below..
Comilla Victorians
After acquiring some quality local and foreign players, Comilla emerged as the season's top team, at least on paper.
Comilla has two of the country's top performers. Before the draft, they kept left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman instead of Litton Das, the country's best batter at the time. However, Comilla got the chance to call first in the Draft and gleefully took the chance to bag Litton.
Comilla's main strength is its well-known foreign star cricketers. They have directly signed Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Abrar Ahmed, and Khushdil Shah.
Shaheen, the left-arm pacer, is uncertain due to injury recovery. Rizwan, the wicketkeeper-batter, will not play in the first leg in Dhaka. He will miss at least four matches due to the New Zealand series. Abrar Ahmed, a leg spinner, will also miss at least the first two games.
Afghanistan's all-rounder Mohammad Nabi will be there from the start of BPL.
Victorians Squad:
Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan), Hasan Ali (Pakistan), Khushdil Shah (Pakistan), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Abrar Ahmed (Pakistan). Litton Das, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Tanveer Islam, Imrul Kayes, Ashiqur Zaman, Jaker Ali Anik, Saikat Ali, Abu Haider Roni, Nayeem Hasan, Mukidul Islam Mugdho, Mohidul Islam Ankan. Shaun Williams (Zimbabwe), Chadwick Walton (West Indies).
Fortune Barishal
Comilla Victorians may be the strongest team on paper, but Fortune Barishal is likely the most productive team this season. They have everything a team could want. They have two genuine all-rounders in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, not one.
Barishal also have veteran Mahmudullah Riyad, who hasn't been in form in this format of late but if he can perform it will a huge advantage for Shakib’s team.
Barishal signed aggressive batter Kusal Perera from Sri Lanka and West Indian spinning allrounder Rakheem Cornwall. While Shakib and Miraz would provide them with left-arm spin and off-spin, Barishal ensured that Pakistan's Usman Qadir would provide them with leg spin as well.
Afghanistan's hard-hitter Rahmanullah Gurbaz is a recognized opener who can destroy any kind of bowling along with Pakistan's Iftekhar Ahmed also could be handy in the middle order position.
Fortune Squad:
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Shakib Al Hasan, Ifthekhar Ahmed (Pakistan), Mohammad Wasim (Pakistan), Ibrahim Jadran (Afghanistan), Karim Janat (Afghanistan), Usman Qadir (Pakistan), Rakheem Cornwall (West Indies), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka). Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Fazle Mahmud Rabbi, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Saif Hasan, Kazi Anik, Sunjamul Islam, Salman Hossain. Hayder Ali (Pakistan), Chaturanga De Silva (Sri Lanka)
Rangpur Riders
Rangpur Riders, the 2017 BPL champions, have little star power this season, but they believe they have a team capable of pulling off a major upset.
Nurul Hasan Sohan will captain the team despite the fact that he has never scored a T20 half-century and has recently had a nightmare behind the stumps. Rangpur, on the other hand, appears unconcerned.
Rangpur's batting line will be led by Naim Sheikh, who was dropped from Bangladesh's T20 squad due to his slow strike rate. However, Naim is regarded as a very good player in a country that has always discouraged power-hitters. Along with him, they have Parvej Hossain Emon, the Bangladeshi batter with the fastest T20 century.
Rangpur have a good collection of foreign players. Haris Rouf's pace could demolish any batting line-up, while Mohammad Nawaz is a true all-rounder who can ransack any bowling line-up with willow and ruin any batting line-up with his wily spin. They have Sikandar Raza, the most inform player in the world right now.
Riders Squad:
Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shoaib Malik (Pakistan) Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka), Haris Rouf (Pakistan), Mohamamd Nawaz (Pakistan), Jeffrey Vandersay (Sri Lanka), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Sheikh Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Rakibul Hasan Jr, Md. Shamim Hossain Patwary, Ripon Mondol, Rony Talukder, Pervez Hossaim Imon, Robiul Haque, Alauddin Babu. Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan), Aron Jones (Barbados/USA).
Sylhet Strikers
The Sylhet franchise has been the most underwhelming in BPL history. Most of the time, they found themselves at the bottom of the table, but this time they vowed to break their losing streak.
This time around, Sylhet's franchise forms the team under entirely new ownership. Despite the fact that the ownership is new, the team's main strength is the country's experienced and old cricketers.
The Sylhet Strikers are centered on Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the former national team captain. They selected Mushfiqur Rahim, another experienced cricketer from the Draft. Rubel Hossain, a seasoned professional, is also present.
Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir, who has reached the end of his career, will play for Sylhet. They also signed former Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera. However, there are some current international players on the foreign list, including Pakistan's Mohammad Haris, Sri Lanka's Dhananjaya de Silva, and Zimbabwe's Ryan Burl.
They also got the services of two openers, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Zakir Hasan, who made his Test debut during Bangladesh's home series against India.
Strikers Squad:
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Mohammad Haris (Pakistan), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe), Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka), Dhananjaya de Silva (Sri Lanka), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka). Mushfiqur Rahim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Nabeel Samad, Towhid Hridoy, Rubel Hossain, Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Islam Apu, Akbar Ali, Mohammad Sharifullah, Tanzim Hasan Shakib. Tom Moores (England), Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan).
Chattogram Challengers
Chattogram will be hoping that their impact players can deliver when it counts most in the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 tournament.
Chattogram retained Afif Hossain on a direct contract. The regular face of the Bangladesh T20 team is also a trusted name for the team.
On direct deals, they signed Lankan pacer Vishwa Fernando, off-spinner Ashan Priyanjan, and Ireland's Curtis Camper. Camper showed glimpses of his talent during the last World Cup. His medium-pace batting could be the team's most valuable asset.
Chattogram did not go for local big stars after getting the opportunity from the Draft. The first two they picked, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury and Shuvagat Hom Chowdhury, who will lead the team.
The port side city has also adopted Unmukt Chand, a former Indian Under-19 captain who obtained US citizenship. Chand was well-versed in the conditions of Asia.
Challengers Squad:
Afif Hossain, Vishwa Fernando (Sri Lanka), Ashan Priyanjan (Sri Lanka), Curtis Camper (Ireland), Darwish Rasooli (Afghanistan). Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Irfan Sukkur, Mehedi Maruf, Ziaur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed Rahi, Farhad Reza, Taufiq Khan Tushar. Max O'Dowd (Netherlands), Unmukt Chand (India/USA).
Khulna Tigers
Tamim Iqbal is one of Bangladesh's biggest stars, with an enviable record in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He will be the one to inspire the Khulna Tigers to go all out in the tournament this season.
Bangladesh's one-day captain, who played in Dhaka's franchise last season, will manage Khulna's team this time. Khulna Tigers are not crowded with T20 national team stars but their squad is quite balanced.
In addition to Tamim, Khulna has signed direct contracts with Sri Lankan Avishka Fernando, Pakistan's Wahab Riaz, Naseem Shah, and Azam Khan. They will not have Naseem at the start of the tournament.
Yasir Ali Chowdhury is Khulna's biggest hope in the middle order. There is also Sabbir Rahman. But Yasir will have more responsibility.
Pace bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin can be quite effective for Khulna. Saifuddin's bowling is always effective in Mirpur's slow pitch.
Tigers Squad:
Tamim Iqbal, Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka), Wahab Riaz (Pakistan), Naseem Shah (Pakistan), Azam Khan (Pakistan). Mohammad Saifuddin, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Nasum Ahmed, Nahidul Islam, Munim Shahriar, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiqul Islam, Pritam Kumar, Habibur Rahman Sohan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy. Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka), Paul Van Meekreen (Netherlands).
Dhaka Dominators
There was a huge a dilemma with the ownership of Dhaka as Pragati Auto Rice Mill Limited was given the ownership of Dhaka during the franchise distribution of BPL but they failed to fulfill the BPL conditions within the specified time, the ownership of the franchise was given to Rupa Fabrics. At the last moment, Dhaka hastily arranged the team from the draft. The team was named Dhaka Dominators.
The biggest star of the team is Taskin Ahmed. The Dominators have taken this fast bowler of the national team in a direct contract.
They have taken Shoriful Islam, another pacer of the national team, from the draft. However, due to injury, the left-hander will not be able to return to the field before January 20. Apart from this, cricketers like Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Nasir Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sani who played for the national team will play for Dhaka. Muktar Ali, Mizanur Rahman, Abdullah Al Mamun, who have performed in domestic cricket, have also been brought into the team by Dhaka.
Pakistan's Shan Masood is notable among foreigners. Sri Lankan all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne can become a big strength of the team. The franchise brought Bangladeshi-born English cricketer Robin Das at the last moment before the tournament. The young batsman, who plays for the county team Essex, is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh next Saturday.
Dominators Squad:
Taskin Ahmed, Ahmed Shahzad, Al-Amin Hossain, Alok Kapali, Arafat Sunny, Ariful Haque, Delwar Hossain, Chamika Karunaratne, Mizanur Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Monir Hossain, Muktar Ali, Dilshan Munaweera, Nasir Hossain, Salman Irshad, Shan Masood, Shoriful Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Robin Das, Usman Ghani
