Fortune Barishal, the reigning champions, secured their playoff spot by finishing at the top of the league stage. As the tournament entered its “business end,” they aimed to strengthen their squad by adding more foreign players.
They had planned to bring in New Zealand pacer Adam Milne and Afghan mystery spinner Noor Ahmad. However, just before their first qualifier match, it was confirmed that Barishal would not be getting these two players.
According to Fortune Barishal sources, Milne was unavailable due to prior commitments. The reason behind Noor Ahmad’s absence, however, remains unclear.
All four teams that qualified for the playoffs attempted to sign renowned foreign players. Among them, Rangpur Riders fielded three new overseas players—England’s James Vince, Australia’s Tim David, and West Indies’ Andre Russell—in their eliminator match against Khulna Tigers on Monday. However, their combined contribution was only 12 runs.
Rangpur suffered a batting collapse and were bowled out for just 85 runs. Khulna, led by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, chased down the target with ease, winning by nine wickets with 58 balls to spare.
Ahead of the playoffs, Khulna had signed two foreign stars—Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder. However, their local players were more than enough to dismantle Rangpur in the eliminator.
