Pakistan's star all-rounder, Shoaib Malik, will no longer be part of the remaining matches in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season, as confirmed by his team, Fortune Barishal. Following Barishal's last match in the initial Dhaka phase of the BPL, Malik departed for Dubai and was initially expected to return by Thursday. Shakib Al Hasan diagnosed with retinal condition in left eye A source close to the Barishal team revealed that Malik expressed his desire to return on February 4th, a deviation from the initially agreed-upon Thursday return date, a request not accepted by the Barishal team. Despite representing Barishal in three matches this season, Malik failed to make a significant impact. Women's Tri-nation Series: Hosts Bangladesh make flying start beating Sri Lanka by 5 wickets As Malik exits the BPL for this season, Barishal has secured the signings of two additional Pakistani players — Ahmad Shahzad and Akif Javed — who are set to join the team by Friday evening, as confirmed by the team's media department. BPL 2024: Comilla Victorians secure maiden win as Barishal fails to defend 13 in last Over Barishal played three matches in the first Dhaka phase, securing one victory.

The Chattogram phase of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will take off Friday at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Home team Chattogram Challengers will take on Fortune Barishal at 2pm. In the initial phase of the league, eight matches were held in Dhaka. Sylhet Strikers, led by Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, have topped the points table with eight points from four wins from as many matches. Tickets for the Chattogam phase are now available. Spectators can collect tickets from Thursday. Also, ticket booths will remain open on match days. Seven teams are participating in this year's BPL. Read more: Azam Khan smashes first BPL 2023 century After the Chattogram phase, the BPL will be back in Dhaka for a two-day phase before an eight-match phase in Sylhet. After that, the competition will return to Dhaka for the final phase. The final of this year's BPL will be played in the capital on February 16.

Comilla Victorians won the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2022 title beating Fortune Barishal by one run in the nail-biting final on Friday in Mirpur. In the last two overs, Barishal needed 16 runs, but they fell short of one run. In the 19th over, Mustafizur Rahman conceded only six runs and bagged one wicket.  In the last over, Shohidul Islam defended nine runs despite a wide ball and a dropped catch by Tanvir Islam. Read: BPL 2022 in numbers: Jacks scores most runs, Mustafizur bags most wickets Towhid Hridoy and Mujeeb Ur Rahman failed to score 10 runs in the last over. Five of the last six balls were played by Towhid who scored only five runs.  Before the last two overs by Mustafizur and Shohidul, Sunil Narine gave only two runs off the 18th over which made the finishing tough for Barishal. They never were able to come up from that damage done by Narine.  While chasing a challenging target of 152 runs, Barishal failed to have a good start as they lost Munim Shariar for a duck. The right-handed batter has done well in previous games. However, in the second wicket stand, Chris Gayle and Shykat Ali posted 74 runs, which set a great foundation for the Fortune Barishal. Shykat, who was playing only the fourth match in this BPL, hit a 26-ball fifty. He ended up on 58 with 11 fours and one six.  After Shykat’s removal, Nurul Hasan joined Gayle in the crease but failed to prove his mettle once again scoring only 14. Gayle remained firm at the other end of the wicket but was unable to do much of what he is expected from the fans.  Gayle ended his last innings of this BPL on 33 off 31 balls with a four and two sixes with 45 runs were needed off 43 balls. Najmul Hossain Shanto was required to do something to chase down this target, but they failed. 

In the final of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Comilla Victorians posted 151 for nine against Fortune Barishal on Friday at Mirpur.  Sunil Narine hit 57 off 23 with five fours and five sixes while Moeen Ali scored 38 off 32 for the Victorians. Despite losing regular wickets, Victorians were able to post a challenging total riding on the batting of these two.  Read: BPL 2022 final: Can Shakib guide Barishal to maiden title Three of the top four— Liton Das, Faf du Plessis, Mahmudul Hasan Joy— failed to reach a double-digit score.  In 2.5 overs, Comilla posted 40 thanks to Narine’s outstanding batting display. The first-wicket stand was broken by Shakib Al Hasan. The Barishal captain came to bowl in the third over of the innings and removed Liton for four.  In the sixth over, Mehedi Hasan Rana removed Narine for 57. Mehedi started the over conceding a six. But he managed to recover and remove Narine. Najmul Hossain Shanto took a great catch in the deep.  Imrul Kayes, the struggling captain of Comilla, failed with the bat once again scoring 12 off 12. He was removed by Dwayne Bravo— the bowler who helped Barishal to come to the final playing so well throughout the event.  Read: Comilla Victorians to meet Fortune Barishal in BPL 2022 Final Abu Hider Rony scored 12 playing 27 balls. He helped Comilla to play all of the stipulated overs.  For Barishal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Shafiqul Islam scalped two wickets each while Shakib, Bravo and Mehedi bagged one wicket each.  Barishal need to score 152 to lift the title of BPL for the first time. 

After losing two of their first three matches, Fortune Barishal are doing great at the right time. They continued on the winning streak beating Comilla Victorians on Monday by 32 runs in Sylhet. It was Barishal’s fourth win on a trot, and it helped them to top the points table with 11 points from eight matches they have played so far. With this victory, Barishal nearly confirmed their play-off berth. While defending 155, Barishal bowled 16 overs of spin that the Victorians batters failed to negotite with those overs. Barishal captain, Shakib Al Hasan, was as smart as he has always been with bowling changes which slowed down the pace of the match and eventually guided Comilla to a batting collapse. Comilla won the toss and sent Barishal to bat first who posted 155 for five in 10 overs with Shakib hitting the highest 50 off 37 balls with four fours and two sixes. Also read: BPL 2022: Favourites to Win Player of the Series Award They had a flying start with the help of Munim Shahriar’s 25-ball 45 with four fours and three sixes. However, Chris Gayle and Najmul Hossain Shanto failed to deliver well as they posted 10 and 1 respectively. Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam took two wickets for the Victorians. In reply, the Victorians were never able to take control of the game. They lost captain Imrul Kayes for one, Liton Das and Mominul Haque posted 19 and 30 respectively but their efforts failed to avoid a defeat for them. Karim Janat and Tanvir scored 17 and 21 quickly, but that also went in vain due to the failure of the middle-order. Five of Victorians’ first seven batters failed to reach a double-digit score. They eventually tumbled for 123 for nine in 20 overs. Right-arm spinner Nayeem Hasan took three wickets for Barishal while Shakib and Dwayne Bravo took two wickets each. Also read: BPL 2022: Imrul, Liton guide Victorians to back on winning-streak Both Barishal and Comilla will take on Sylhet Sunrisers on February 8 and 9 in Sylhet in their next games. After three days of play on February 7, 8 and 9, BPL will be back to Dhaka for the final phase of the event.

Rain played spoilsport on Friday afternoon, delaying the day's first match in the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).  In the first match of the day from 1.30pm, Sylhet Sunrisers were scheduled to take on Fortune Barishal. But an hour of showers have delayed the match. In the second match, Comilla Victorians will take on Minister Group Dhaka at 6.30pm.  Also read: Showers usher in chill in Bangladesh After Friday’s play, the teams will travel to Sylhet where six matches will be played on February 7, 8 and 9. A total of 34 matches will be played in BPL, and 18 have already taken place.  Comilla are at the top of the points table, with eight points from four wins in five matches they have played so far. Barishal have also the same amount of points, but they are slightly behind Comilla in run-rate.  Also read: BPL 2022: Imrul, Liton guide Victorians to back on winning-streak

Despite some late blows by the Khulna Tigers batters, Fortune Barishal picked up their third win in the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday in Chattogram.  Khulna needed to score 146 to win the match, but they ended up on 139 and lost the match by six runs. With this win, Barishal secured a total of six points from three wins in five matches they’ve played so far.  Barishal won the toss in this match and opted to bat first— unlike the other matches when captains opted to bowl first after winning the tosses.  also read: BPL 2022: Victorians continue on winning-streak Despite losing three wickets in just 24 runs, Barishal posted 145 for all wickets in 18.5 overs. In the fourth wicket stand, Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto posted 79 runs on the board. Riding on this stand, Barishal managed to set a challenging total. Shakib scored 41 while Shanto added 45 in the fourth wicket stand for Barishal.  Khaled Ahmed bagged three for Khulna Tigers while Kamrul Islam and Farhad Reza took two wickets each.  In reply, Yasir Ali and Mushfiuqr Rahim scored 57 not out and 33 respectively but their effort went in vain as the top-order failed to provide a good start.  Also read: BPL 2022: Competition among six teams gets heated up in Phase 2 Khulna needed 36 runs in the last two overs which came down to 15 in the last over, but Khulna batters failed to achieve that.  For Barishal, Dwayne Bravo took three wickets conceding 40 runs in four overs while Shakib took two wickets conceding only 10 runs in four overs. Shakib won the player of the match award for his allround show. Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman did not get any wicket, but he was excellent with the ball as he conceded only 13 runs in four overs.  Khulna now have four points from two wins in five matches they’ve played till the date.  In their next match, Khulna will take on Sylhet Sunrisers on February 3 while Barishal will lock the horns with Chattogram Challengers on February 1. 

Initially, the eighth season of the Bangladesh Premier League was set to take place in March 2021. However, it was postponed indefinitely owing to the coronavirus outbreak. Later the BCB announced that the franchise-based T20 cricket league BPL will take place from January 21 to February 18, 2022. The forthcoming competition will include a total of six teams and the eighth edition of the Players' draft took place on December 27 (Monday). As usual, there were some surprises in this draft. The SWOT analysis of each BPL 2022 team is discussed in this article. The Bangladesh Premier League 2022 Venues The Bangladesh Premier League 2022 will be conducted in three venues. Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, and Sylhet International Cricket Stadium are the three venues, respectively. As expected, all venues are likely to favor the spinners. However, given the popularity of the T20 format, BCB will attempt to produce some batting-friendly pitches. Read NZ vs BAN Test Series 2022: Five Bangladesh Players to keep an eye on Six Participating Teams of BPL 2022 At a Glance Dhaka, Chattogram Challengers, Khulna Tigers, Fortune Barishal, Sylhet Sunrisers, and Cumilla Victorians are the six teams who will compete in the T20 format's Bangladesh Premier League. Let's look at each squad separately. Dhaka Team Dhaka startled everyone by signing three of Bangladesh's finest cricketers. Bangladesh's T20I skipper Mahmudullah Riyad was a straight signing, but they surprised everyone when they picked ODI Captain Tamim Iqbal and veteran Mashrafe Mortaza from the draft. They have a total of 18 players in the squad, with five from the foreign category. Read Australia Clinch Ashes with a Thumping win Over England in Third Test Strength Dhaka's biggest strength in their quest for a fourth BPL title is having experienced Mashrafe, Mahmudullah, and Tamim in the team. Mashrafe is the most successful skipper in the history of the BPL, while Tamim and Mahmudullah are among the tournament's most successful run-getters. Weakness The T20 format cricket requires the use of young players to provide energy on the field, but Dhaka's lineup is somewhat aged. The fact that they have an older squad may come back to haunt them when it comes to fielding. Therefore, this is Dhaka's main weakness. Read Bangladesh-New Zealand Test Series: Three Inspiring Knocks From Bangladeshi Batters Opportunity To begin with, this competition will provide a massive opportunity for Bangladesh T20 captain Mahmudullah Riyad to win the BPL as a captain. Despite appearing in two finals in the Bangladesh Premier League, Riyad has never won a title. Besides, leg-spinner Rishad Hossain can show off his skills if given a regular opportunity. Threat If Dhaka's star players can't find their rhythm during the competition, they might be in big trouble. Mashrafe hasn't played competitive cricket in over a year, while Tamim is recovering from an injury. Both the players are unlikely to feature in the competition on a regular basis. Read Bangladesh Cricket in 2021: Performance Analysis by Series Squad:  M Riyad (c), I Udana, Q Ahmad, N Zadran, T Iqbal, R Hossain, M Mortaza, S Hom, M Shahzad, F Farooqi, M Naim, A Sunny, I Uzzaman, S Islam, J Islam, S Rahman, E Hossain, R Hossain. Chattogram Challengers Chattogram has built a young squad because they don't have any famous names from the domestic category. They do, however, have young Bangladeshi stars such as Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, and Shamim Hossain. Chattogram's foreign category players will bear the brunt of the pressure in this season of the BPL. Strength This squad includes a number of young Bangladeshi players as well as some seasoned international players. The team is expected to be one of the finest fielding units in the competition. With Benny Howell, Chadwick Walton, and Rayad Emrit in the lineup, the young Bangladesh players may have a better chance of showcasing their skills during the competition. Read Memorable International Cricket Moments in 2021 Weakness Foreign recruiters are competent, but their major flaw is that they lack experience with local players. Chattogram may struggle to perform at the tournament's most vital stage because of it. Another key drawback for the Challengers is that they don't have enough options in the roster. Opportunity With the T20 World Cup in November 2022, Akbar Ali, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, and Mukidul Islam will have plenty of opportunities to impress the selectors. Aside, power hitter Sabbir Rahman will be eager to seize this opportunity to return to the national squad. Read Expected personal milestones to achieve in the Upcoming NZ vs BAN Test Series 2022  Threat With a small squad compared to other teams, Chattogram may have difficulty putting together an ideal playing XI if someone is injured. Squad:  N Ahmed, B Howell, K Lewis, W Jacks, S Islam, A Hossain, S Hossain, M Islam, C Walton, R Emrit, R Raja, S Rahman, M Chowdhury, M Hasan, A Ali, N Islam Khulna Tigers Khulna Tigers have acquired Mr. Reliable Mushfiqur Rahim as a direct signing. They have also added some well-known Sri Lankan players to their roster. Read Central Asian Volleyball Challenge: Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh to be crowned men’s champions Strength Khulna have a number of proven T20 players who can change the course of a match. Mushfiqur, Thisara Perera, Soumya Sarkar, and Farhad Reza are among them. This team has the potential to be a very tough side to beat if they find the right combination. Weakness A team must have some great spinners to win any major competition in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, Khulna's lineup is short of top spinners. Mahedi Hasan is a capable spinner, although he is not regarded as one of the best in the country. They have Afghani Naveen ul Haq in the pace attack, who is still young, and Kamrul Islam Rabbi, who is not a good T20 bowler. As a result, Khulna's bowling department is a major source of concern. Read Sunzamul bags eight to help North Zone register first win Opportunity Mushfiqur Rahim has yet to win a BPL championship both as a player and as a captain. This would be an excellent opportunity for Mushfiqur to demonstrate his captaincy skills. Soumya Sarkar, Yasir Ali, and Jaker Ali will do everything they can to get the attention of the selectors. Threat Like Chattogram, Khulna have a small squad, which could make replacing an injured player difficult. Squad:  M Rahim, T Perera, B Rajapaksa, Naveen-ul-Haq, M Hasan, S Sarkar, K Rabbi, Y Ali, S Prasanna, S Raza, F Reza, R Talukdar, K Ahmed, J Ali, N Samad. Read Tour match: New Zealand X1 score 71 for 5 against Bangladesh on day-1 Fortune Barishal Before the players' draft, Barishal signed ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who will lead the team this season. Barishal feature some outstanding T20 players with a large squad. Strength Barishal have one of the most well-balanced squads in this season, and they are one of the early favorites to win the BPL 2022 competition. Their strong point is that they have some competent backup players, notably in the batting order. Other teams will have a difficult time defeating Barishal if Universe Boss Chris Gayle gets his groove at the perfect time in the competition. Weakness There aren't enough pacers on Barishal's squad which is their major weakness. They have West Indian pacer Alzarri Joseph, but no prominent Bangladeshi pacers. Read U-19 Asia Cup: Bangladesh emerges group champion to reach semifinal   Opportunity Shakib Al Hasan aspires to captain Bangladesh again, therefore this will be a fantastic opportunity for him to demonstrate his leadership abilities. Irfan Sukkur, Mehedi Hasan Rana, and Towhid Hridoy are among this generation's most talented players. So, this upcoming event will provide them with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills. Threat With only a few medium pacers, Barishal might be in serious trouble in the middle of the competition. If the spinners fail to produce and the surfaces favor quicker bowlers, Barishal may be in jeopardy. Squad: S Al Hasan, M Ur Rahman, D Gunathilaka, C Gayle, N Hasan, N Shanto, M Rana, F Mahmud, O McCoy, A Joseph, T Hridoy, Z Rahman, S Islam, S Ali, N Dickwella, N Hasan, T Islam, S Hossain, I Sukkur. Read Australia Clinch Ashes with a Thumping win Over England in Third Test Sylhet Sunrisers Taskin Ahmed was a direct signing for Sylhet. They have a huge squad with some good T20 players. Sylhet have a stronger chance of winning this year's BPL. Strength Sylhet have a huge squad, which implies they have some solid backup players. As a result, squad depth is one of their strongest assets. Ravi Bopara, Taskin Ahmed, Alok Kapali, Dinesh Chandimal, and Kesrick Williams are all talented T20 players. They should be confident in their ability in order to take home the trophy for the first time. Weakness Sylhet don't have any serious flaws, although they failed to include one of Bangladesh's top five players. Another key concern for Sylhet might be finding the right combination. Read Bangamata 6-Nations Volleyball: Bangladesh finishes 5th beating Maldives  Opportunity Mosaddek Hossain, Muktar Ali, Jubair Hossain, and Anamul Haque will have a chance to demonstrate their T20 skills in this event. Threat Sylhet's main challenge, and potential threat, would be to find a winnable combination. Squad: T Ahmed, D Chandimal, K Williams, C Ingram, S Ahmed, M Hossain, M Mithun, Al Amin Hossain, N Islam, R Bopara, A Perera, A Haque, S Gazi, A Kapali, M Ali, J Hossain, M Rahman, N Chowdhury, S Hayet, S Islam. Read Fed Cup Football: Mohammedan emerge group champions Cumilla Victorians Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman was a direct signing for two-time BPL winner Cumilla. They also acquired some top-tier T20 players, including Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, and Sunil Narine. Cumilla will thus be one of the toughest teams to beat in the BPL 2022. Strength Cumilla have a few good all-rounders as well as some promising young players. Cumilla are one of the better teams this season, with a mix of youth and experience. Weakness Cumilla have no specific flaws in their squad because they have adequate backup in every department. Read BCL: Shuvagata smashes a ton, Irfan takes five Opportunity Parvez Hossain Emon, Sumon Khan, Mehedi Hasan, and Shohidul Islam will have a chance to impress the national selectors at the upcoming event. Threat Cumilla are banking on its young, bright players, who could be a real threat once the competition begins. Things might go wrong for the Victorians if those players don't perform as anticipated. Squad:  Faf du Plessis, M Ali, S Narine, M Rahman, L Das, S Islam, I Kayes, T Islam, K Mendis, O Thomas, A Haque, N Islam, M Joy, S Khan, M Haque, M Ankon, P Emon, A Hider, M Hasan. Read BPL 2022 squads at a glance after draft Verdict Following the player draft, it’s evident that no particular franchise team can be considered the favorite. Each team boasts a number of excellent cricketers. Any team in the BPL 2022 tournament has a chance to win if they perform at their best from the outset. Fans will be tempted to Dhaka because of Mashrafe Mortaza, Mahmudullah Riyad, and Tamim Iqbal. On the other hand, everyone will be paying close attention to the world's best all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's Fortune Barisal. Overall, T20 cricket fans are looking forward to a competitive eighth season of the Bangladesh Premier League.

It was a sight no-one watching the game would expect. Certainly not coming from Mushfiqur Rahim - one of the mainstays of the Bangladesh national team for a long time now, a former captain of his country, and undoubtedly one of the most beloved of the Tigers, as the national team players are affectionately known.

Beximco Dhaka knocked Fortune Barishal out of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.