Bangladesh Premier League 2016: All you need to know
The fourth season of BPL starts from 4th November
Bangladesh Premier League got off the mark in grand style in 2012 when Dhaka and Barisal faced off in the event's inaugural match. Chris Gayle’s ton in 44 balls added to the excitement among the audience present at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Dhaka was eventually crowned as the winner of the inaugural BPL. Dhaka even clinched the title in 2013.
Since then, it has been a stop-start journey for BPL. The brakes were put on the event by unwanted controversies and match-fixing scandals. Nonetheless, the tournament came back with a bang in 2015 with its third edition. Mashrafe Mortaza’s Comilla Victorians won a low-scoring humdinger against Mahmudullah’s Barisal Bulls to become the champions of 2015.
It is 2016 and BPL is all set to soar up the adrenaline rush. The event is still a few hours away, but the heat is already at its peak in Bangladesh.
Teams and players
Seven teams will be participating in Bangladesh's most prestigious tournament. The following data will give a fair idea about the teams and their warriors.
#1 Dhaka Dynamites
Kumar Sangakkara has to step up to the plate for Dhaka
The Dhaka franchise has always been a team to beat in the Bangladesh Premier League. The two-time champion served with stupendous cricket in all the three seasons of the tournament. They crashed out of the event when they unexpectedly lost a play-off match against Comilla Victorians in 2015 by 72 runs.
The 2016 squad looks pretty healthy from the all-rounder's point of view. With Shakib, Russell and D.J. Bravo among the ranks, Dhaka has covered up the chunk of their line-up. Moreover, the presence of M.Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara only adds to the team combining of class and power-hitting.
| Local Players | Overseas Players |
|---|---|
| Shakib Al Hasan | Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) captain |
| Nasir Hossain | Dwyane Bravo (West Indies) |
| Suhrawadi Shuvo | Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka) |
| Sunzamul Islam | Evin Lewis (West Indies) |
| Alauddin Babu | Wayne Parnell (South Africa) |
| Irfan Sukkur | Sekkuge Prasanna (Sri Lanka) |
| Mosaddek Hossain | Andre Russell (West Indies) |
| Mehedi Maruf | Ravi Bopara (England) |
| Tanveer Haider | Usama Mir (Pakistan) |
| Sunzamul Islam |