Barisal Bulls
8 Betfred, Stan James
Last season: runers-up
Squad: Rumman Raees, Dilshan Munaweera, Mushfiqur Rahim, Al-Amin Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mohammad Nawaz, Carlos Brathwaite, Shamsur Rahman, Abu Hider, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Nadif Chowdhury, Josh Cobb, Mahedi Hasan, Monir Hossain Khan, Shahriar Nafees
Analysis: The Bulls, who have twice made the final, have lost the services of last season’s top wicket-taker, Kevon Cooper. But they do boast No 2 on that list last year Abu Hider. Their batting seems to lack the firepower required, however.
Chittagong Vikings
4.33 Skybet, Betfred
Last season: Sixth
Squad: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Nabi, Taskin Ahmed, Chaturanga de Silva, Grant Elliott, Imran Khan jnr, Abdur Razzak, Subashis Roy, Jahurul Islam, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Jeevan Mendis, Tymal Mills, Zakir Hasan, Saqlain Sajib, Shahidul Islam, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Jubair Hossain
Analysis: Strong with the bat, not so with the ball. Few will want to be against Chittagong in a chase with Tamim, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith ready to tee off. When you splurge so much on batting talent inevitably you lose something in the field. Tymal Mills is a decent capture with the ball and much depends on him. They finished bottom last term and are poor jollies for that reason.
Comilla Victorians
8 Stan James
Last season: winners
Squad: Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Ashar Zaidi, Imad Wasim, Thisara Perera, Mashrafe Mortaza, Sohail Tanvir, Nuwan Kulasekera, Rashid Khan, Rovman Powell, Khalid Latif, Shahzaib Hasan, Al-Amin, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Nahidul Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Jason Holder, Mohammad Sharif, Nabil Samad, Jasimuddin, Saikat Ali, Rasel Al Mamun.
Analysis: The champions have lost big runs from Ahmed Shehzad and Marlon Samuels and it’s tough to argue they’ve replaced them. There’s nothing wrong with their bowling options, however. Mashrafe is a go-to man, Sohail Tanvir is always slippery while Imad Wasim and Ashar Zaidi are solid spinning all-rounders. There are far worse 8 shots given their form.
Dhaka Dynamites
5 Marathon
Last season: Fourth
Squad: Evin Lewis, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib Al Hasan, Ravi Bopara, Nasir Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Seekugge Prasanna, Wayne Parnell, Sanjamul Islam, Alauddin Babu, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Mehedi Maruf, Usama Mir, Mohammad Shahid, Irfan Shukkur, Tanveer Haider
Analysis: No matter what franchise league around the world it is, there’s always one team who tries to buy the title. In this edition it’s Dhaka. The splurge is extraordinary on overseas talent. It’s so excessive they seem to have forgotten that only four can play at one time. Oh, and they haven’t got any international-class specialist pacers or spinners. Whoops. Shakib-al-Hasan is the poster boy for the two-time champs.
Still, we’re all about the odds offered among Green Listed Bookmakers and clearly, Marathon are wrong to have this lot at 5. They are surely good enough to make the finals and then you’re talking about a couple of big performances from big players. They should be 3.5, which, incidentally, is what Skybet and Stan James have them at. They have to be our pick on those grounds
Khulna Titans
8.5 Skybet
Last season: n/a
Mahmudullah, Nicholas Pooran, Riki Wessels, Kevon Cooper, Mohammad Asghar, Benny Howell, Mosharraf Hossain, Lendl Simmons, Ben Laughlin, Shuvagata Hom, Ariful Haque, Abdul Majid, Alok Kapali, Andre Fletcher, Junaid Khan, Hasanuzzaman, Naeem Islam Jnr, Noor Hossain Saddam, Taibur Rahman, Abdul Halim, Shafiul Islam
Analysis: This is actually a nicely balanced squad having had a closer look. Mahmudullah is a good leader while Shuvagata Hom and Shafiul Islam are decent homegrown bowling talent. Kevon Cooper (the top wicket-taker) is a great capture while Lendl Simmons can usually be relied upon for runs. This lot could go deep.
Rangpur Riders
6.5 Skybet
Last season: Lost in playoffs
Squad: Soumya Sarkar, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Shahzad, Gidron Pope, Mohammad Mithun, Babar Azam, Shahid Afridi, Dasun Shanaka, Arafat Sunny, Richard Gleeson, Nasir Jamshed, Sachithra Senanayake, Rubel Hossain, Sohag Gazi, Ziaur Rahman, Naeem Islam, Gihan Rupasinghe, Elias Sunny, Pinak Ghosh, Muktar Ali, Mehrab Hossain, Shahbaz Chouhan
Analysis: Rangpur could really struggle. We’re never impressed by franchisees who think Shahid Afridi is a worthy signing. Likewise Nasir Jamshed. Richard Gleeson, the Northants quick, is worth his weight in gold, however, he could be fighting a losing battle on his own. Soumya Sarkar is one to watch with the bat.
Rajshahi Kings
9 Marathon
Last season: n/a
Squad: Sabbir Rahman, Darren Sammy, Mohammad Sami, Nurul Hasan, Milinda Siriwardana, Upul Tharanga, Mominul Haque, Farhad Reza, Nazmul Islam, Raqibul Hasan, Samit Patel, Abul Hasan, Rony Talukdar, Salman Hossain, Ebadot Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Mira
Analysis: We always have a soft spot for the rags in T20. Can we convince ourselves the 9 is worth taking? Easily. Sabbir Rahman is a good hitter, Darren Sammy is a T20 specialist who sprinkles stardust on his teams and Mehedi Hasam Mira is the wonder kid who did for England in the Tests. They only need finish in the first four and then who knows what might happen.
Calculators
