The Bangladesh Cricket Board was motivated to launch an annual franchise T20 Cricket League after seeing the success of the IPL. The BCB hosted the first edition of the competition in 2012, which included six franchises. The event was an instant success due to the popularity of the format. BPL has been the most-watched domestic tournament since then. Seven BPL tournaments have been held to date. However, BCB was unable to organize some seasons because of covid-19 and other factors. Let’s take a look at the past winners of the Bangladesh Premier League.  BPL: List of Winners Dhaka's franchise won the inaugural edition of the Bangladesh Premier League in 2012. Since then, Dhaka have won three BPL championships. Cumilla have won the competition twice, and Rangpur and Rajshahi have each won once. Read Bangladesh National Men's Cricket Team Schedules for 2022 Winners of each season of the BPL T20 cricket league Season Winner Result Runner-up 2012 Dhaka Gladiators 8 wickets victory for Dhaka  Barisal Burners 2013 Dhaka Gladiators 43 runs victory for Dhaka Chittagong Kings 2015 Comilla Victorians 3 wickets victory for Comilla Barisal Bulls 2016 Dhaka Dynamites 56 runs victory for Dhaka Rajshahi Kings 2017 Rangpur Riders 57 runs victory for Rangpur Dhaka Dynamites 2019 Comilla Victorians 17 runs victory for Comilla Dhaka Dynamites 2020 Rajshahi Royals 21 runs victory for Rajshahi Khulna Tigers   source: www.espncricinfo.com BPL 1 (Champion: Dhaka Gladiators) Dhaka Gladiators won the 2012 BPL after defeating Barisal Burners by 8 wickets in the final. Dhaka qualified for the semifinals after finishing third in the group round with ten points. They won five games and lost an equal amount of games in the league stage. Dhaka advanced to the final after defeating Khulna by 9 runs in the semifinals. On the other hand, Barisal Burners defeated Duronto Rajshahi by 8 wickets in the semifinals to advance to the championship match. In the final, Barisal batted first and scored 140/7 in their allocated 20 overs. Dhaka comfortably chased down the target with 4.2 overs to spare, losing only two wickets. Khulna’s Shakib Al Hasan won the player of the tournament.  Read Five Defining Moments of Bangladesh’s Historic Test Victory Over New Zealand BPL 2 (Champion: Dhaka Gladiators) Dhaka Gladiators won the 2013 BPL after beating Chittagong Kings by 43 runs in the final. Dhaka qualified for the playoffs by finishing first in the group stage with 18 points. Dhaka proceeded to the final after beating Sylhet by 4 runs in the first qualifier. They faced Chittagong Kings in the final, who defeated Sylhet Royals by 3 wickets in the second qualifier. Dhaka batted first in the final and scored 172/9 in their allotted 20 overs. In the chase, Chittagong were dismissed for 129 runs in 16.5 overs. Shakib Al Hasan of Dhaka was named player of the tournament.  BPL 3 (Champion: Comilla Victorians) Comilla Victorians won the 2015 BPL after defeating Barisal Bulls by 3 wickets in the final. Comilla earned a spot in the playoffs by finishing first in the group stage. Comilla advanced to the final after defeating Rangpur by 72 runs in the first qualifier. They met Barisal Bulls In the final, who beat Rangpur Riders by 5 wickets in the second qualifier. In the final, Barisal batted first and scored 156/4 in their allocated 20 overs. Comilla reached the target in exactly 20 overs, losing 7 wickets. Comilla's Ashar Zaidi was awarded player of the tournament.  Read BPL 2022: The Favourites, Outsiders and Underdogs BPL 4 (Champion: Dhaka Dynamites) Dhaka Dynamites won the BPL 2016 after defeating Rajshahi Kings by 56 runs in the final. Dhaka qualified for the final by defeating Khulna by 54 runs in the first qualifier. In the second qualifier, Rajshahi Kings defeated Khulna Titans by 7 wickets to advance to the final. Dhaka batted first in the final and scored 159/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Rajshahi were all-out for 103 in the replay, and Dhaka won the championship match. Mahmudullah Riyad of Khulna was named Player of the Series.  BPL 5 (Champion: Rangpur Riders) Rangpur Riders won the BPL for the first time in 2017 after defeating Dhaka Dynamites in the final by 57 runs. Rangpur advanced to the final after winning the playoffs against Khulna and Comilla respectively. On the other hand, Dhaka beat Comilla by 95 runs to reach the final. Rangpur batted first in the final and made 206/1 in their allocated 20 overs. In reply, Dhaka scored 149/9 in 20 overs and lost the match. Rangpur Riders' Chris Gayle was awarded Player of the Series.  Read BPL 2022: Five Promising Young Players to Watch BPL 6 (Champion: Comilla Victorians) Comilla Victorians earned their second BPL title in 2019 after overcoming Dhaka Dynamites by 17 runs in the final. In the first qualifier, Comilla defeated Rangpur by 8 wickets to go to the final. Dhaka advanced to the final by defeating Rangpur by 5 wickets in the second qualifier. In the final, Comilla batted first and scored 199/3 in their allocated 20 overs. Dhaka lost the title match after scoring 182/9 in 20 overs. The Player of the Series was Dhaka's Shakib Al Hasan.  BPL 7 (Champion: Rajshahi Royals) The reigning champions Rajshahi won their first-ever BPL title in 2020 by defeating Khulna Tigers by 21 runs in the final. Rajshahi defeated Chattogram in the second qualifier to advance to the final. On the other hand, Khulna progressed to the final after defeating Rajshahi in the first qualifier, although they were defeated by them in the championship match. Rajshahi won their first title after scoring 170/4 and restricting Khulna to 149/8 in the BPL7 final. The Player of the Series award went to Rajshahi Royals' captain Andre Russell.  Read ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022: SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh Team Bottom Line According to statistics, Dhaka's franchise is the most successful in the Bangladesh Premier League. They are also one of the league's most consistent teams. However, Dhaka haven't won the tournament in the past three seasons, therefore they will try to win the competition in the next BPL 2021. Besides, Chattogram, Barisal, Khulna, and Sylhet have yet to win the competition. They will also be hoping to win the competition in the upcoming BPL season.   

The 2022 season of the Bangladesh Premier League will begin on January 21 (Friday). The final match of the eighth season of the BPL will be contested at the SBNCS in Mirpur on February 18 (Friday). The defending champion Rajshahi Royals and the 2017 champion Rangpur Riders will not compete this season, while the Barishal franchise has returned to the competition. This year's BPL will feature a total of six teams. Let's take a look at the BPL 2022 favorites, underdogs, and outsiders. The Front Runners of BPL 2022 Based on their respective strengths, Cumilla Victorians and Fortune Barishal are the two front-runners in the upcoming T20 competition. Cumilla Victorians Cumilla are perhaps the best team in the competition, and their coach Mohammad Salauddin is one of the most successful in tournament history. Cumilla won the BPL 2016 under his guidance. Therefore, Salauddin will be expected to lead Cumilla to their third Championship. Cumilla can expect to capture the title in the eighth edition of the BPL final, thanks to the presence of Mustafizur, Liton, Imrul Kayes, and other notable T20 players from across the world. Also read: NZ-BAN First Test draw can give Bangladesh the pleasure of victory Top five players of Cumilla Victorians: Faf du Plessis (batter), Moeen Ali (all-rounder), Sunil Narine (all-rounder), Mustafizur Rahman (Left-arm pacer), Liton Das (batter) Fortune Barishal Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will lead the Fortune Barishal side in the forthcoming tournament. Barishal have featured some effective players in their lineup, all of whom have widespread T20 experience. The Universe Boss Chris Gayle and Danushka Gunathilaka are among them. Young Afghani off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be one of Barishal's main strike bowlers. Overall, the Barishal team has the right balance in their quest for the BPL 2022. Top five players of Fortune Barishal: Shakib Al Hasan (all-rounder), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Off-spinner), Chris Gayle (batter), Danushka Gunathilaka (all-rounder), Alzarri Joseph (Pacer)  Read South Africa Dominate as KL Rahul-led India Struggle Day 1 of 2nd Test  The Outsiders of BPL 2022 Dhaka and the Sylhet Sunrisers can be regarded as outsiders in the tournament. Dhaka    Mahmudullah Riyad is the captain of Dhaka team. They also selected veteran Mashrafe Mortaza and Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal from the players’ draft. However, Dhaka's squad lacks quality backup players, which might limit their chance to perform well in the later stages of the competition. Dhaka's key players must remain fit throughout the campaign in order to advance to the knockout stage.  Top five players of Dhaka: Mahmudullah Riyad (all-rounder), Mashrafe Mortaza (bowler), Tamim Iqbal (batter), Rubel Hossain (pacer), Mohammad Shahzad (batter)  Read BPL 2022: Five Promising Young Players to Watch  Sylhet Sunrisers  Sylhet Sunrisers will field some of Bangladesh's most well-known cricketers in the forthcoming BPL 2020 tournament. However, finding the right combination may be a huge challenge for the Sylhet side. Players like Taskin, Mithun Ali, and Ravi Bopara would be crucial for Sylhet in the later stages of the tournament. With their present lineup, Sylhet can only be regarded as an outsider to win the tournament. Top five players of Sylhet Sunrisers: Taskin Ahmed (pacer), Kesrick Williams (pacer), Ravi Bopara (all-rounder), Dinesh Chandimal (batter), Mosaddek Hossain (all-rounder)  Read ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022: SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh Team The Underdogs of BPL 2022  The Khulna Tigers and Chattogram Challengers are the two underdogs of the forthcoming competition, based on the strength of their respective squads. Khulna Tigers Mr. dependable Mushfiqur Rahim will lead Khulna in this season's Bangladesh Premier League. Khulna don’t have a big squad and as a result, they do not have enough quality players to put up a serious fight against stronger opponents. The success of Khulna's BPL 8 campaign will be determined by how they manage their team throughout the main tournament. They must devise a winning combination for a successful season. However, Khulna are one of the underdogs in this year's competition. Top five players of Khulna Tigers: Mushfiqur Rahim (batter), Thisara Perera (all-rounder), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (batter), Soumya Sarkar (all-rounder, Farhad Reza (all-rounder) Read ICC U19 World Cup 2022 Fixtures: Bangladesh to Face England in Group Phase Chattogram Challengers  Chattogram Challengers will field some of Bangladesh's rising superstars in the Bangladesh Premier League 2022. That’s why everyone is interested in the Chattogram franchise. Will this youthful team be able to make it all the way to the final? From a realistic point of view, this Chattogram squad can’t be regarded as one of the favorites, given the team lacks experience. However, they will be one of the most intriguing teams to watch in the forthcoming BPL 2022. Top five players of Chattogram Challengers: Nasum Ahmed (left-arm spinner), Benny Howell (all-rounder), Afif Hossain (all-rounder), Shoriful Islam (pacer), Chadwick Walton (wicket-keeper, batter)  Read BPL 2022: SWOT Analysis of all Six Teams  Verdict After a short assessment of the teams' strengths to determine the tournament's favorites, underdogs, and outsiders, it is evident that the Cumilla Victorians have the best team among the participants. Cumilla Victorians along with Shakib Al Hasan's Fortune Barishal will be the hot favorites this season. Both Dhaka and Sylhet have several national stars in their teams, but neither Chattogram nor Khulna have strong squads. Therefore, Dhaka and Sylhet Sunrisers have an outside chance of winning the BPL 2022. On the other hand, Chattogram and Khulna have some young players in their squads. Both sides will need to find a suitable combination in order to fight hard against the stronger opponents. Hopefully, the best team in the competition will take home the championship.      Read NZ vs BAN Test Series 2022: Five Bangladesh Players to keep an eye on