Comilla Victorians
 | |
| League: | Bangladesh Premier League |
|---|---|
| Captain: | Mashrafe Mortaza |
| Coach: | Mohammad Salahuddin |
| City: | Comilla, Chittagong Division |
| Colours: |
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| Owner: | Nafisa Kamal (Legends Sporting Limited) |
| Founded: | 2015 |
| Manager: | Khaled Mashud |
| BPL wins: | 1 (2015) |
| Official website: |
www |
Comilla Victorians (Bengali: কুমিল্লা ভিক্টোরিয়ানস) is a professional Bangladeshi Twenty20 cricket team based in Comilla City, Chittagong Division. The Victorians are members of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a professional cricket league in Bangladesh. The Victorians are the latest inclusion to the tournament.[1]
The Victorians were established in 2015, when Nafisa Kamal, who was then the co-owner of the Sylhet Royals, announced plans to establish a franchise in Comilla.[2] After suspension of the Royals by the Tournament Governing Board, Kamal entered a five- year ownership agreement for US$27.50 million. The Victorians are widely considered one of the strongest team in Bangladesh Premier League.[3]
The Victorians made their first appearance during BPL III, and ended as the champions of the season. The Victorians are one of only two teams to win the championship during its first appearance; the first was Dhaka Gladiators in BPL I. The team is reputed to have a balanced team with a strong batting and bowling unit. The Victorians are coached by Mohammad Salauddin. Mashrafe Mortaza is the captain of the team, and is considered "the face of the franchise". The team is owned by Nafisa Kamal and is valued at US$27.5 million, making the Victorians the most valuable franchise in the league.[4][5]
The team made its first appearance during the third season of the Bangladeshi Premier League. The team finished as the top team during regular season, winning seven of ten matches. Victorians defeated Rangpur Riders in the semi-final. This facilitated a show-down with Barisal Bulls in the final. They defeated the Bulls on 15 December 2015, at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, this becoming the champions of the third season of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Franchise history
Foundation
The Comilla Victorians were created when the decision was made to expand the number of teams and move away state representative teams to city-based teams for the third season of the competition. With the revamp of Bangladesh Premier League, a scope was created for interested bidders to bid for Comilla-based franchise, being the second largest city in Chittagong Division.[6] The legal franchise rights were sold to Nafisa Kamal (Legends Sporting Limited), a former owner of defunct franchise Sylhet Royals. The rights were bought at US$27.50 million for five years. During October 2015, Comilla Victorians was officially established, thus becoming the second team to play from Chittagong Division, after Chittagong Vikings.[7]
2015: Bangladesh Premier League Third Season
Draft Pick
The Comilla Victorians were the newest addition to the Bangladesh Premier League. The draft pick was held on 22 October 2015, where the team picked nine overseas players and thirteen national players. Ironically, before the tournament, analysts predicted the Victorians as the weakest team in the tournament due to lack of variation in the team, despite inclusion of experienced players like Mashrafe Mortaza, Shoaib Malik and big hitters like Andre Russell, and Marlon Samuels.
Regular Season
The Comilla Victorians opened its campaign against Dhaka Dynamites. The game was played on 22 November The Victorians were restricted to 110/8, which ended in a defeat to Dhaka Dynamites by six wickets. The Victorians went to having a three-game winning streak after that, convincingly defeating Chittagong Vikings, Rangpur Riders and Barisal Bulls. Victorians' strong bowling attack was admired after its brilliant performance against Barisal Bulls during its third game in regular season, where Bulls were bowled out for 89 runs, one of the lowest totals in Bangladesh Premier League. The team went on to maintaining its dreaded performance with bowling, when the team bowled out Rangpur Riders for 82 runs, resulting in a win by huge margin of 9 wickets. The team finished the regular season with seven wins of ten matches. Imrul Kayes was the second highest run-scorer of the tournament, scoring 312 runs at an average of 28.36 while Abu Hider was the second highest wicket taker with 21 wickets. Ashar Zaidi was awarded the player of the tournament for his outstanding all rounding performance.
Final
In-form after coming out as the lead in regular reason, the Victorians went on to win against the Barisal Bulls in Dhaka. The final was held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on 15 December 2015, The Victorians won the toss and choose to field. A good spell of bowling from Ashar Zaidi and economical spell fromDarren Stevens restricted the Bulls to (156/4) after 20 overs. The Victorians came on the top during the second innings after a blazing innings of 53(37) from Imrul Kayes. The final was taken till the last ball, with 11 runs needed in the last over. Alok Kapali pulled off a tense win after hitting a boundary in the last ball.[8]
Team Identity
Name and Logo
After the foundation of the team in October 2015, Comilla Legends was proposed as the franchise name. However, the name Victorians was later finalised as the official name by Nafisa Kamal. The official logo was revealed in a launching ceremony where team's official jersey was launched by brand ambasasdor Ananta Jalil, Afiea Nusrat Barsha and team captain Mashrafe Mortaza.
Jersey colours
The kit colours of the team are orange and black with a gold accented shoulder. The logo of the team is displayed on the left chest while the silver sponsor Exim Bank logo is displayed on the right. S. Alam Group of Industries is the platinum sponsor of the team. Sailor by Epyllion manufactures the kit for the team.
Sponsorship
S. Alam Group of Industries, one of the largest conglomerate in Bangladesh, is the platinum sponsor of the franchise. The team attracted the most number of sponsors during the third season of the tournament with nine associate/silver sponsors which includes big names such as Marcel, Exim Bank, 100Plus, AVR, FBL, Minister HI-Tech Industries, MAX Group, Paragon and Rupayan Group.
Premier Bank is the official banking partner of the franchise, Gaan Bangla is the media partner, Magnito Digital is the print media partner, BongoBD is the online partner and Westin Hotels & Resorts is the hospitality partner.
Season-by-season record
| Year | Matches | Wins | Losses | No Result | Run Rate | For | Against | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | +0.788 | 1296/185.5 | 1231/199.0 | 1st, Champions |
| 2016 | | |||||||
Administration and support staff
| Team Management | |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Nafisa Kamal (Comilla Legends Limited) |
| Coach | Mohammad Salahuddin |
| Captain | Mashrafe Mortaza |
| Vice-captain | Shoaib Malik |
| Director | Samiur Nahiyan Islam |
| Manager | Khaled Mashud |
| Mentor | Wasim Akram |
| Analyst | Ar Srikkanth |
| Brand Ambassador | Ananta Jalil, Afiea Nusrat Barsha, Kaushik Hossain |
Current squad
| No. | Name | Nat | Date of Birth | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| 19 | Ahmed Shehzad |  | 23 November 1991 | Right-hand bat | Right-arm leg break | Overseas |
| 45 | Imrul Kayes |  | 2 February 1987 | Left-hand bat | - | |
| All-Rounders | ||||||
| 18 | Shoaib Malik | | 1 February 1982 | Right-hand bat | Right-arm off break | Overseas, Vice-Captain |
| Andre Russell |  | 29 April 1988 | Right-hand bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Overseas | |
| 07 | Marlon Samuels | | 5 February 1981 | Right-hand bat | Right arm off spin | Overseas |
| 99 | Ashar Zaidi |  | 13 January 1981 | Left-hand bat | Slow left-arm orthodox | Overseas |
| 25 | Naeem Islam | | 31 December 1986 | Right-hand bat | Right-arm off break | |
| 14 | Shuvagata Hom | | 11 November 1986 | Right-hand bat | Right-arm off break | |
| 03 | Darren Stevens | | 13 April 1976 | Right-hand bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Overseas |
| Al Farabi | | Right-hand bat | Right-arm medium-fast | |||
| Alok Kapali | | Right-hand bat | Right-arm leg-break | [9] | ||
| 62 | Mahmudul Hasan | | Right-hand bat | Right-arm off break | ||
| Ariful Haque | | Right-hand bat | Right-arm medium-fast | |||
| Bowlers | ||||||
| 01 | Abu Hider | | Right-hand bat | Left-arm fast-medium | ||
| 02 | Mashrafe Mortaza | | Right-hand bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Captain, Icon player | |
| 92 | Nuwan Kulasekara |  | Right-hand bat | Right-arm medium-fast | Overseas | |
| Kamrul Islam Rabbi | | Right-hand bat | Right-arm medium-fast | |||
| Sunzamul Islam | | Left-hand bat | Slow left-arm orthodox | |||
| Sunil Narine |  | Left-hand bat | Right-arm off break | Overseas | ||
| 74 | Krishmar Santokie | | Left-hand bat | Left arm medium pace | Overseas | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 16 | Liton Das | | Right-hand bat | |||
| Dhiman Ghosh | | Right-hand bat | ||||
Records
Team Records
Result summary v. Opponent
| Opposition | Pld | W | L | T | T+W | T+L | NR | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barisal Bulls | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Chittagong Vikings | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Dhaka Dynamites | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Rangpur Riders | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Sylhet Super Stars | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
Sponsors and Endorsement
| Kit | Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Sleeve sponsor | Head Gear sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Sailor | S. Alam Group of Industries | Marcel, FBL | Sailor | |
References
- ↑ "Six-team BPL to commence from November 24". espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ↑ "'Sylhet Royals' turns into 'Comilla Legends'". bdcricteam.com. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ↑ "Batting depth key for evenly matched finalists". espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
- ↑ "Comilla Victorians Player, Squad, Owner BPL T20 2015". bpllivescore.com. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ↑ "Salahuddin to coach new BPL side Comilla Victorians". espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ↑ "'Comilla Legends' turned 'Comilla Victorians'". bdcricteam.com. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ↑ "Salahuddin to coach new BPL side Comilla Victorians". apolene.com. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ↑ "Bangladesh Premier League, Final: Comilla Victorians v Barisal Bulls at Dhaka, Dec 15, 2015". CricInfo. espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ↑ "কুমিল্লার জার্সিতে দেখা যেতে পারে কাপালিকে". http://www.channelionline.com/. Retrieved 2015-10-23. External link in
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