Many countries have established their own T20 leagues in the midst of the fast-paced world of T20 cricket. One such tournament, the Bangladesh Premier League, came into existence in 2012. And now, the ninth edition of the tournament is all set to begin on January 6 with seven teams. The tournament will have 46 games, and the final will be played on February 16 in Mirpur. It was the Comilla Victorians that won the final of the last season.
They won their third BPL title by defeating Fortune Barishal by one run in a thrilling final. Meanwhile, Barishal, who made their comeback to the league after three seasons, dominated in the group stage but fell short in the final. But the franchise will look to complete the unfinished business and win their maiden BPL title in 2023.
Fortune Barishal Highest Score in BPL
Fortune Barishal Lowest Score in BPL
Fortune Barishal Squad 2023
Fortune Barishal has played five seasons in the BPL and has been one of the unluckiest teams in the competition. Out of their five seasons, they have finished three as runners-up (2012, 2015, and 2022). They didn’t feature in 2017, 2019 and 2020 seasons, respectively. But now, the franchise will be keen to get their hands on the BPL title in the coming season. That’s why they have worked on their team combination, picking some serious names in the player draft. The team will be captained by No. 1 ranked all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, and Nazmul Abedin Fahim is the head coach.
Apart from him, there are some big international stars in the squad. In this 24-member squad, they have Rahkeem Cornwall (WI), Ibrahim Zadran (AFG), Karim Janat (AFG), Iftikhar Ahmed (PAK), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG), Kusal Perera (SL), and Haider Ali (PAK), some international stars who will be their main batters in the competition. And with so many international batters, the team is expected to do well in the competition. The bowling attack will have the likes of Mohammad Wasim (PAK), Usman Qadir (PAK), Kesrick Williams (WI), and Naveen-ul-Haq (AFG). Overall, this team is the strongest in the competition when it comes to on-paper strength. And it will be interesting to see what kind of performance they can bring together on the field.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (C), Rahkeem Cornwall, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Kusal Perera, Usman Qadir, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kesrick Williams, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Anamul Haque, Kamrul Islam, Rabbi Fazle Mahmud, Haider Ali, Chaturanga de Silva, Khaled Ahmed, Saif Hasan, Qazi Anik, Sunzamul Islam, Salman Hossain
Star performer from the last season
A number of batters, including Fortune Barishal, topped the run totals in the last season. Especilly, Shakib ended as their highest run-scorer in 2022 season, followed by Chris Gayle and Najmul Hossain Shanto. Although Gayle is not part of the current team for the coming edition, they still have a strong batting order.
| Batter | Mts | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s/50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakib Al Hasan | 11 | 284 | 51* | 28.40 | 144.16 | 0/3 |
| Chris Gayle | 10 | 241 | 52* | 26.77 | 112.61 | 0/1 |
| Najmul Hossain Shanto | 11 | 188 | 45 | 20.88 | 91.70 | 0/0 |
| Munim Shahriar | 6 | 178 | 51 | 29.66 | 152.13 | 0/1 |
| Towhid Hridoy | 11 | 136 | 31* | 17.00 | 97.84 | 0/0 |
Top Bowlers from the last season
Dwayne Bravo and Shakib Al Hasan were among the top bowlers for the Fortune Barishal in the last season. Bravo ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker.
| Bowler | Mts | Wkts | BBI | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwayne Bravo | 10 | 18 | 3/30 | 7.78 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 11 | 16 | 3/23 | 5.35 |
| Mehedi Hasan Rana | 8 | 11 | 4/17 | 8.21 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 8 | 10 | 3/9 | 5.81 |
| Shafiqul Islam | 8 | 10 | 2/16 | 8.00 |