Chattogram Challengers

Bangladesh Premier League Franchise

Chattogram Challengersচট্টগ্রাম চ্যালেঞ্জার্স

Nickname(s)| Born 2 Win
League| Bangladesh Premier League
Personnel
Captain| Afif Hossain
Coach| Shaun Tait
Team information
City| Chittagong, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh
Founded| 2012; 10 years ago (2012) as Chittagong Kings
2015 as Chittagong Vikings
History
Bangladesh Premier League wins| 0
Official website| www.ctgchallengers.com

The Chattogram Challengers (Chittagonian/Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম চ্যালেঞ্জার্স) is a franchise cricket team which participates in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The franchise was founded in 2012.

## Contents

* 1 Franchise history
* 2 Season history
* 2.1 BPL 01
* 2.2 BPL 02
* 2.3 BPL 03
* 2.4 BPL 04
* 2.5 BPL 05
* 2.6 BPL 06
* 2.7 BPL 07
* 2.8 BPL 08
* 3 Seasons
* 4 Sponsors
* 5 Current squad
* 6 Administration and Support Staff
* 7 Notes
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## Franchise history[edit]

The Chattogram franchise joined the BPL as one of its original members in 2012, and appeared in the final in 2013 under the captaincy of Mahmudullah Riyad and coaching of Khaled Mahmud. The team changed its name from Chittagong Kings after a change of ownership in 2015. And Chittagong Vikings was founded 1 December 2015.[1] It was owned by DBL Sports Limited, a concern of DBL Group.[2]

DBL Sports Limited terminated the ownership of the team on 29 July 2019.[3] They were later reinstated after Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) changed the format of the tournament and acquired ownership for all the teams for the 2019–20 season.[4]

Chittagong Vikings participated in the first two seasons as ‘Chittagong Kings’ and was owned by SQ sports. After SQ Sports was charged with fixing and delaying payments to players, it was banned from participating in cricketing activities so were all the other franchisees owners for corruption scandals.

Since 2015, DBL Group took charge of the ownership and change the name to Chittagong Vikings. All other franchises have gone through and ownership and name change, other than Rangpur Riders.

## Season history[edit]

### BPL 01[edit]

See also: 2011-12 Bangladesh Premier League

In the inaugural season, Chittagong Kings had a strong squad with the likes of Mahmudullah Riyad, Dwayne Bravo, Kevon Cooper and Jason Roy. However, even with such a strong team on paper, they couldn't show their full potential on the field. They were disqualified controversially as Barisal Burners were the ones who went through to the knockout stage. The team management were very unhappy with the decision, as their disqualification was announced at 2 am at the day of the knockout match.

### BPL 02[edit]

See also: 2012-13 Bangladesh Premier League

The team retained Mahmudullah and Jason Roy while they gained some reinforcements in the likes of David Miller and Ryan ten Doeschate. This time, they team performed really well, winning their first three games in a row and advancing to the playoffs. They reached the finals but couldn't lift the trophy as Dhaka Gladiators successfully defended their championship.

### BPL 03[edit]

See also: 2015-16 Bangladesh Premier League

Chittagong Vikings emerged as the new representative team of the port city in the BPL, under a new name and ownership of DBL Group. They team selected Tamim Iqbal as their icon player and had some overseas players such as Mohammad Amir, who returned after a 5-year ban for fixing, Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Akmal brothers and South African spinner Robin Peterson.

In the field, the Vikings wasn't at their best while their pacer Amir was with the ball. They finished as the bottom of the table, hence being disqualified.

### BPL 04[edit]

See also: 2016-17 Bangladesh Premier League

The Vikings retained Tamim as icon while they signed some big names such as Chris Gayle and Shoaib Malik

The team was pretty good throughout the tournament but not the best. They managed to get through to the playoffs but lost to the newcomer Rajshahi Kings in the eliminator.

### BPL 05[edit]

See also: 2017-18 Bangladesh Premier League

The Vikings didn't boast the strongest squad on paper. They had Soumya Sarkar as their icon player and had signed Luke Ronchi, Sikandar Raza, Najibullah Zadran and more. The team was initially lead by Misbah-ul-Haq but Ronchi took over after he was dropped due to poor form.

On the field, Ronchi carried the team with the bat and Raza supported throughout the middle. Local players underperformed which cost them heavily. The finished at the bottom registering only three wins on their belt.

### BPL 06[edit]

Old logo of the team, named as "Chittagong Vikings"

See also: 2018-19 Bangladesh Premier League

The team didn't want to participate in the BPL this time but they were requested by the BPL Governing Council. They team retained Ronchi, Raza and Sunzamul Islam

The team didn't have an A+ (icon) until minutes before the commencement of the draft. Mushfiqur Rahim was the only A+ player without a team. The highest price for an icon 60 lacs Taka ($75,000) while Mushfiqur demanded 1 Croce 20 lacs Taka ($150,000). The Vikings management offered a maximum price of maximum 80 lacs Taka ($100,000). After some negotiations with the Vikings team management, Mushfiqur and the BPL Governing Council, Mushfiq agreed to join the Vikings fleet as their A+ player.

In the draft, the Vikings were very active, signing the likes of Cameron Delport, Dasun Shanaka and Najibullah Zadran. Mosaddek Hossain, Abu Jayed and Khaled Ahmed were a part of their local signings. However, their signing of Mohammad Ashraful, returning to professional cricket after serving a 5-year ban for fixing, made headlines.

The Vikings started off strong early on but gradually slipped as the tournament progressed. The finished 4th in the points table and lost to Dhaka Dynamites in the Eliminator.

### BPL 07[edit]

See also: 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League

During the player's direct signing period, a Conflict of Interests aroused between BCB and all other franchise. Subsequently, in September 2019, BCB made some changes in rules and regulations for this season and eliminating all franchises, BCB took over the charge of the current BPL and decided to run this current tournament by the board itself and named the tournament as Bangabandhu BPL T20 2019 in order to pay homage to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his birth centenary.[5] The team was owned and managed by BCB itself.[6]

Akhtar Group acquired sponsorship rights of Chittagong and named the team ‘Chattogram Challengers’. They signed the likes of Chris Gayle, Mahmudullah Riyad[7] this time they performed well in group stage, winning eight matches and four losses

### BPL 08[edit]

Main article: 2021–22 Bangladesh Premier League

After a year break due to COVID-19 pandemic, the eighth edition of the BPL was scheduled to be played from 21 January to 18 February 2022. In this edition Delta Sports joined Akhtar Group as the franchise owner. Before the drafts the franchise recruited left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed and three foreign players Benny Howell, Kennar Lewis and Will Jacks as their direct signing.[8]

## Seasons[edit]

Year  | Bangladesh Premier League

|

2012  | League Stage (5th)
2013  | Runners-up
2015  | League Stage (6th)
2016  | Playoffs (4th)
2017  | League Stage (7th)
2019  | Playoffs (4th)
2019-20  | Playoffs (3rd)
2022  | Playoffs (3rd)

## Sponsors[edit]

Year  | Shirt Sponsor (Front)  | Shirt Sponsor (Back)  | Chest Branding  | Left Arms  | Right Arms

|
|
|
|
|

2015  | The City Bank | Steeltech Industries Ltd  | DBL Group  |  |
2016  | BBS Cables Ltd  |  |
2017  | Nahee SS Pipes Industries Ltd.  | Pioneer Insurance Company  |  |
2019  | DBL Ceramics  | M&R Companies  | DBL Group  |  |
2019-20  | Akhtar Group  | Acme; Delta Furnishers  |  |  |
2022  | SQ Cables,

AkhtarFoam

| Delta Furnishers  | Akhtar Plywood  | ZSRM, Gani Marble Tiles

## Current squad[edit]

* Players with international caps are listed in bold.

#  | Name  | Nationality  | Birth date  | Batting style  | Bowling style  | Year signed  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Batters
9  | Will Jacks |  England |  (1998-11-21) 21 November 1998 (age 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm Off-break | 2022 | Overseas
69  | Kennar Lewis |  Jamaica |  (1991-08-18) 18 August 1991 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm Off-break | 2022 | Overseas
| Akbar Ali |  Bangladesh |  (2001-10-08) 8 October 2001 (age 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm Off-break | 2022 |
| Zakir Hasan |  Bangladesh |  (1998-02-01) 1 February 1998 (age 24) | Left-handed | – | 2022 |
| Chadwick Walton |  Jamaica |  (1985-07-03) 3 July 1985 (age 37) | Right-handed | - | 2022 | Overseas
1  | Sabbir Rahman |  Bangladesh |  (1991-11-22) 22 November 1991 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm Leg-break | 2022 |
29  | Shamim Hossain |  Bangladesh |  (2000-09-02) 2 September 2000 (age 22) | Left-handed | Right-arm Off-break | 2022 |
All-rounders
77  | Naeem Islam |  Bangladesh |  (1986-12-31) 31 December 1986 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm Off-break | 2022 | Captain
18  | Afif Hossain |  Bangladesh |  (1999-09-22) 22 September 1999 (age 23) | Left-handed | Right-arm Off-break | 2022 |
53  | Mehidy Hasan |  Bangladesh |  (1997-10-25) 25 October 1997 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm Off-break | 2022 |
13  | Benny Howell |  England |  (1988-10-05) 5 October 1988 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 | Overseas
| Rayad Emrit |  Trinidad and Tobago |  (1981-03-08) 8 March 1981 (age 41) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 | Overseas
Bowlers
10  | Nasum Ahmed |  Bangladesh |  (1994-12-04) 4 December 1994 (age 27) | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 2022 |
| Enamul Haque Jr. |  Bangladesh |  (1986-12-06) 6 December 1986 (age 35) | Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 2022 |
47  | Shoriful Islam |  Bangladesh |  (2001-06-03) 3 June 2001 (age 21) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2022 |
2  | Mukidul Islam |  Bangladesh |  (2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 |
24  | Rejaur Rahman Raja |  Bangladesh |  (1999-01-01) 1 January 1999 (age 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2022 |
| Mrittunjoy Chowdhury |  Bangladesh |  (2001-06-28) 28 June 2001 (age 21) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2022 |

## Administration and Support Staff[edit]

Position  | Name

|

Owner | K.M. Akhtaruzzaman
CEO | Syed Yasir Alam
Head coach | Shaun Tait[a][9]
Batting coach | Najmul Abedin
Bowling coach | Shaun Tait
Team manager | Fahim Muntasir
Managing Director | K.M.Rifatuzzaman
Source:

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ After 4 matches, Paul Nixon left due to his other commitments.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Launching Ceremony of BPL franchise Chittagong Vikings". DBL Group (Press release). Archived from the original on 8 July 2018.
2. ^ "Chittagong Vikings Official Facebook Page".
3. ^ "No Chittagong Vikings in upcoming BPL". The Daily Star. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
4. ^ "BCB set to arrange BPL without the franchises this year". The Daily Star. 11 September 2019.
5. ^ "BCB to conduct T20 tournament instead of BPL after fallout with franchises". Cricbuzz. 11 September 2019.
6. ^ "Bangabandhu BPL T20 2019 squads". Bangladesh Cricket Board. 17 November 2019.
7. ^ "Chris Gayle to Play for Chattogram Challengers in BPL". The Indian Express. 3 December 2019.
8. ^ "Chittagong Challengers rope in Nasum for 2021 edition". cricfrenzy.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
9. ^ "Naeem replaces Mehidy as Chattogram captain in BPL; head coach Nixon leaves for Leicestershire". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

## External links[edit]

* Website
* Facebook Page

* v
* t
* e

Bangladesh Premier League

Seasons|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2019
* 2019–20
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Finals|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2019
* 2019–20
* 2021–22
* 2023

Participating teams|

* Fortune Barishal
* Chattogram Challengers
* Comilla Victorians
* Minister Group Dhaka
* Khulna Tigers
* Sylhet Sunrisers

Defunct/Suspended teams|

* Barisal
* Bulls
* Burners
* Chittagong
* Kings
* Vikings
* Comilla
* Warriors
* Dhaka
* Dynamites
* Gladiators
* Platoon
* Khulna
* Royal Bengals
* Titans
* Rajshahi
* Duronto
* Kings
* Royals
* Rangpur
* Rangers
* Riders
* Sylhet
* Royals
* Super Stars
* Sixers
* Thunders

Venues|

* SBNCS Dhaka
* ZAC Chittagong
* MA Aziz Chittagong
* SANS Khulna
* SIC Sylhet

Auctions|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2019
* 2019–20
* 2021–22

Statistics and records|

* Team
* Batting
* Bowling
* Wicketkeeping and fielding
* Partnership
* Miscellaneous
* Hat-tricks

Lists|

* Venues
* Captains
* Umpires
* Centuries
* Five-wicket hauls

Related topics|

* List of team captains
* Match fixing
* Icon player

* Category
* Commons
* WikiProject

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