2021-22 Bangladesh Premier League: All you need to know
What's the story
The 2021-22 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League is scheduled to start on January 21. The final will take place on February 18. This time only six teams will participate in the competition. The tournament will be held at three different venues - Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka and the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. Here are further details.
Context
Why does it matter?
BPL is organized by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and it was last held in 2019. The 2019 edition of the tournament was called Bangabandhu BPL T20 to pay homage to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his 100th birth anniversary. The 2021-22 season was initially scheduled to start from March but was deferred while the 2020 season was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Format
Here's the structure of the tourney
The first stage of BPL is a double-round-robin format with each team facing each other twice. The top two teams qualify for Qualifier 1 and the winner of this contest goes to the final. The third and fourth team will take on each other in an elimination match and the winner will reach Qualifier 2. The winner of Qualifier 2 reaches the final.
Details
Previous winners of the BPL
Dhaka Gladiators won the first two editions of BPL. In 2013, they were dissolved and sold, besides being rebranded as Dhaka Dynamites. Dynamites won the 2016-17 season. The 2015-16 and 2018-19 seasons of BPL was won by Comilla Victorians. Rangpur Riders won their maiden trophy in 2017-18. Rajshahi Royals won the special edition of BBPL 2019 by defeating Khulna Tigers in the final.
Performers
A look at the top performers
Shakib Al Hasan is the highest wicket-taker in BPL. He has picked 106 wickets at an average of 17.83. He is followed by Rubel Hossain (90), Mashrafe Mortaza (81), and Shafiul Islam (78). Mushfiqur Rahim is the highest run-getter with 2,274 runs at 37.27. He is followed by Tamim Iqbal (2,221 runs), Mahmudullah (1,820 runs), and Imrul Kayes (1.774 runs).