The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league consisting of seven franchises. The BPL is one of the three professional cricket leagues in Bangladesh. It is the 16th most attended premier league in the world. In winter, each team faces the other twice in the league stage. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top four teams advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination game, and two qualifier games culminating in the Championship game, between the winner of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2.
The Bangladesh Premier League was formed in 2011 by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, after the suspension of its predecessor organization, 2009/10 National Cricket League Twenty20. The first season was held in February 2012, and the games were held across Dhaka and Chittagong. The BPL is headed by the chairman of its Governing Council.
The 2020 version of BPL was meant to be held without franchise involvement, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) arranging the tournament. The decision came after the meeting between BCB and franchises owners whereas BCB failed to meet the demand placed by different team owners. In October 2020, the BCB confirmed that there would not be another tournament in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comilla Victorians is the defending champion, winning their third title, becoming the joint most successful team along with Franchises of Dhaka.
BPL-2012 (1st edition)
The first edition of the league officially kicked off on 9 February 2012, excluding a lavish opening ceremony at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.[5] The initial player auction was held on 18 and 19 January 2012 and the first match in the tournament staged on 9 February 2012 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium between Sylhet Royals and Barisal Burners. The first final game was between Dhaka Gladiators and Barisal Burners, with Dhaka Gladiators emerging as champions after winning by eight wickets. All matches in the first edition of the league were held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the country’s second-largest city Chittagong.
BPL-2022 (8th edition)
The 2021–22 season, the eighth edition also named Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League T20 (BBPL T20)–2022, was initially scheduled to start in March 2021. However, the tournament was postponed and rescheduled to be held from 21 January to 18 February 2022. In December 2021, all six teams were announced, with Rangpur Rangers and the defending champion Rajshahi Royals being excluded, a franchise from Barisal was included and Comilla Victorians also returned after a year break. Initially, Rupa Steel & Marn Group owned the Dhaka franchise, but a day before the players’ draft their ownership was terminated due to non compliance of rules. However, the Minister Group took ownership of the franchise after the players’ draft.[17] Due to the unavailability of technical teams the DRS system could not Used in this season. Initially, BCB decided to allow spectators this year, however, due to the rise of Omicron variants, the board backed out from its decision and decided to play behind closed doors.
The two points table topper team Fortune Barishal and Comilla Victorians reached the final. In the final, Comilla Victorians defended 151 runs to win their third title in a thrilling 1-run victory.[19] Sunil Narine was the Player of the Final for his all-round performances. Shakib Al Hasan, captain of the runners-up team, Fortune Barishal received the Player of the Tournament award for his all-round performance, having scored 284 runs in 11 innings and picked up 16 wickets.
BPL-2023 Player Draft: Full list of players picked by each Bangladesh Premier League team
The BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) 2023 Player draft has been completed – here is the full list of players picked by each team at next year’s Bangladesh Premier League.
The 9th Edition of Bangladesh Premier League will be played from January 5 to February 16, 2023. The draft for the same was held on November 23, 2022. While Shakib Al Hasan (Fortune Barishal) and Mustafizur Rahman (Comilla Victorians) will play for their old franchises, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, and Nurul Hasan will find new teams, in Khulna Tigers, Sylhet Strikers, and Rangpur Riders respectively.
Player: Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Abrar Ahamed, Litton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Chadwick Walton, Tanvir Islam, Imrul Kayes, Josh Cobb, Aashiqur Zaman, Brandon King, Jaker Ali Anik, Sean Williams, Shykat Ali, Abu Haider Rony, Nayeem Hasan, Mukidul Islam, Mahidul Islam Ankon
Fortune Barishal
Player: Shakib Al Hasan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Usman Qadir, Rahkeem Cornwall, Kesrick Williams, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Fazle Rabbi, Haider Ali, Chaturanga de Silva, Saif Hasan, Khaled Ahmed, Kazi Onik, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kusal Perera, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadat Hossain, Sunzamul Islam, Salman Hossain
Chattogram Challengers
Player: Afif Hossain, Vishwa Fernando, Ashan Priyanjan, Curtis Campher, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Shuvagata Hom, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Unmukt Chand, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed Rahi, Farhad Reza, Irfan Shukkur, Mehedi Maruf, Ziaur Rahman, Maxwell Patrick, Towfiq Khan
Dhaka Dominators
Player: Taskin Ahmed, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Munaweera, Mohammad Mithun, Soumya Sarkar, Shoriful Islam, Shan Masood, Ahmad Shahzad, Alok Kapali, Monir Hossain Khan, Ariful Haque, Salman Irshad, Muktar Ali, Mizanur Rahman, Delwar Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Nasir Hossain, Al Amin Hossain, Usman Ghani
Rangpur Riders
Player: Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shoaib Malik, Pathum Nissanka, Sikandar Raza, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Jeffrey Vandersay, Sheikh Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Naim Sheikh, Rakibul Hasan Jr, Shamim Hossain, Ripon Mondol, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Jones, Rony Talukder, Parvez Hossain Emon, Alauddin Babu
Player: Tamim Iqbal, Avishka Fernando, Wahab Riaz, Naseem Shah, Azam Khan, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Nasum Ahmed, Nahidul Islam, Munim Shahriar, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Dasun Shanaka, Paul van Meekeren, Shafiqul Islam, Pritom Kumar, Habibur Rahman, Mahmudul Hasan Joy
Sylhet Strikers
Player: Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Haris, Thisara Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya De Silva, Colin Ackermann, Rubel Hossain, Tom Moores, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Islam Apu, Akbor Ali, Taibur Rahman, Ryan Burl, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Nabil Samad, Towhid Hridoy, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
