BPL 2022 Predictions & Betting Tips

2019-20 Result: Third in the table, third overall
Captain: Naeem Islam
Overseas Players: Rayad Emrit, Benny Howell, Will Jacks, Kennar Lewis, Chadwick Walton
Other key players: Shoriful Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Chattogram Challengers won eight of their twelve games last season and finished level on points with top of the table Khulna Tigers and second placed Rajshahi Royals. They beat Dhaka Platoon in the Eliminator but were then beaten by eventual champions Rajshahi Royals in the Qualifier 2.

There is plenty of talent in their overseas signings for the 2021-22 competition. All of their foreign recruits bar Chadwick Walton played in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament before Christmas and will be ready to show off their big-hitting batting skills once again. Kennar Lewis went straight from Abu Dhabi to the Lanka Premier League where he also impressed.

We expect Lewis and fellow overseas player, Will Jacks, to open the batting with all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz more than capable of matching them at the top of the order. They will miss last season’s 442 runs from the experienced Imrul Kayes who has signed with Cumilla Victorians for this campaign.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz is a smart bowler and he will get plenty of assistance from the surfaces in Bangladesh to help his off-spin. The pace bowling threat will come from Bangladesh international Shoriful Islam and the English Benny Howell who has a reputation as a partnership-breaker.

A lot will depend on how many runs the overseas players are able to contribute. We do not expect to see them improve on third from the last BPL.

2019-20 Result: Fifth
Captain: Imrul Kayes
Overseas Players: Moeen Ali, Cameron Delport, Faf du Plessis, Karim Janat, Sunil Narine, Oshane Thomas, Kusal Mendis
Other Key Players: Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Mustafizur Rahman

Cumilla Victorians finished in fifth place last season after winning only five of their twelve matches. Although they were one place away from the play-offs, they were four points adrift.

The Victorians have done some excellent recruiting of overseas players and in Moeen Ali and Faf du Plessis they have two of the key batters from Chennai Super Kings’ IPL triumph in 2021. Karim Janat is a strong bowling all-rounder who will pick up valuable wickets.

Faf du Plessis and Imrul Kayes will make a formidable opening batting pair and with stroke makers like Moeen Ali and the in-form Liton Das also in the line-up, runs should not be a problem for this side.

Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman finished as the Victorians’ top wicket taker last season but he will be turning out for Fortune Barishal in 2022. We expect the wicket taking threats to come from Oshane Thomas, Moeen Ali and Mustafizur Rahman.

Cumila Victorians have an enviable batting line-up and will be very disappointed if they do not finish in the top four in BPL 8.

2019-20 result: n/a
Captain: Shakib Al Hasan
Overseas players: Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Alzarri Joseph, Jake Lintott, Obed McCoy, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Other key players: Najmul Shanto, Taijul Islam

Fortune Barishal return to the BPL after an absence of three seasons due to financial difficulties. In 2016, their last appearance, they finished seventh out of seven.

They have signed up an impressive roster of overseas players for BPL 8 with former West Indies short-format specialists Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle the biggest names. Wrist spinner Jake Lintott is a useful signing who has made a name for himself in white ball cricket over the last twelve months.

Chris Gayle will no doubt bat in the top four and be joined by Bangladesh internationals Najmul Shanto and keeper-batter Nurul Hasan. Captain Shakib Al Hasan is the most decorated player in Bangladesh history and he will not be wasted in the middle order.

Alzarri Joseph will bring pace to the bowling attack with Dwayne Bravo bringing more variations and slower balls to outfox the opposition batters. Jake Lintott and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (who will join when he concludes his BBL stint with Brisbane Heat) will offer excellent slow bowling options alongside Shakib.

Fortune Barishal have all the ingredients to go all the way in the 2021-22 BPL. We expect them to finish in the top two.

2019-20 Result: First in table, Runners-Up overall
Captain: Mushfiqur Rahim
Overseas Players: Naveen-ul-Haq, Sikandar Raza, 
Other Key Players: Soumya Sarkar, Farhad Reza

The Tigers enjoyed a fine campaign last season and finished top of the group stage due to a superior net-run-rate. They were beaten in the final by 21 runs by Rhajshahi Royals.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s side have suffered the late withdrawals by Sri Lankans Thisara Perera, Seekuge Prasanna and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. However, they still have talented overseas players in Afghan pace bowler Naveen-ul-Haq and Zimbabwe’s batting all-rounder Sikander Raza.

We expect to see captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who finished with 491 runs last season, and Soumya Sarkar opening the batting for the Tigers with Raza an option as an ultra-aggressive number three. They will miss Rilee Roussow, who hit the most runs of any player in the tournament in BPL 7, and has signed up for the PSL.

Naveen-ul-Haq enjoyed an excellent T20 Blast campaign in England last summer and will lead a bowling attack that was spearheaded by Mohammad Amir in the last BPL.

Without their top wicket taker and leading batter from 2019-20, it could be a struggle for the team to replicate the returns from last time.

2019-20 Result: Fourth in table, Fourth overall
Captain: Mahmudullah
Overseas Players: Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran, Qais Ahmad, Andre Russell, Isuru Udana
Other Key Players: Ebadot Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Tamim Iqbal

Minister Dhaka, under new owners, have rebranded from Dhaka Platoon. They finished in fourth last time round but were only two points from the summit.

The new look side have signed up some exciting international stars with Andre Russell and Mohammad Shahzad the most likely to light up the tournament. Young Afghan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad has been impressing in this year’s BBL in Australia.

With 24 international centuries to his name and 396 runs in BPL 7, Tamim Iqbal is likely to be a reliable source of runs. Experienced captain Mahmudullah has also been in good form with the bat in the lead-up to this tournament.

Ebadot Hossain comes into this campaign off the back of his 6-46 in one innings in New Zealand. He will be looking to transfer his red ball prowess to the short format. Alongside him with the ball, Rubel Hossain took 20 wickets for Chattogram and will be a valuable addition to Dhaka.

They were not far away last time and we are backing their new signings to improve their chances. We are predicting a top two finish.

2019-20 Result: Seventh
Captain: Mosaddek Hossain
Overseas Players: Ravi Bopara, Colin Ingram, Shiraz Ahmed, Lendl Simmons, Devon Thomas, Kesrick Williams
Other Key Players: Anamul Haque, Mohammad Mithun, Taskin Ahmed

Sylhet Sunrisers lost eleven of their twelve fixtures in the 2019-20 tournament and finished eight points adrift at the bottom of the table.

They have invested in experienced overseas players for BPL 8 with all six of their imports over 30 years of age. Lendl Simmons had a disappointing T20 World Cup but will be well rested after a three month break.

Mohammad Mithun provided the Sunrisers with some cheer in an otherwise disappointing campaign last time. He struck 14 sixes and hit 2 half-centuries on his way to 349 tournament runs. We expect the overseas contingent to vye for some of the top order spots.

New signing Taskin Ahmed will be one to watch with the ball for Sylhet in this competition. He only played in eight games in the 2019-20 BPL but picked up an impressive 11 wickets. Kesrick Williams will provide him with some excellent pace bowling support.

It will not be hard for Sylhet Sunrisers to improve on their woeful points tally from showing BPL 7, however we would be surprised if they improve enough to finish in the top four and make the play-offs.