About

Fortune Barishal (Bengali: ফরচুন বরিশাল) is a franchise cricket team plays in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), representing the country's Barishal Division. Following the 2015 competition, the team were one of the BPL's six existing members and participated in the league's 2016 edition. The team was originally established in 2012 for the inaugural BPL season as the Barisal Burners (Bengali: বরিশাল বার্নার্স, often abbreviated as BB). The Burners were the BPL runners-up in 2012. The Burners were one of the teams dissolved in 2013 after the BPL's second edition. The franchise was sold to the Axiom Technologies and rebranded as the Bulls for the 2015 edition. Axiom Technologies' chairman was banned for life from cricket and thus Awwal Bhulu was sworn in. The Bulls were coached by Graham Ford and captained by Mahmudullah Riyad in 2015/16 Bangladesh Premier League. Sri Lanka born Australian Dav Whatmore and Bangladesh's current test captain Mushfiqur Rahim were the head coach and captain for Season 4 (2016/17 Bangladesh Premier League) respectively. The team were excluded from BPL 5 due to financial difficulties. The team returned in 2021–22 Bangladesh Premier League under new ownership. In 2012, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) created the Bangladesh Premier League cricket tournament to be played under Twenty20 rules. For the inaugural tournament held in February of the same year, a list of six teams to participate in the tournament was finalised. The teams representing the divisions of Bangladesh, including Barisal, were put up for auction at the Radisson Hotel in Dhaka on 10 January 2012. Barisal Burners were bought by ALIF SSL Sports Holdings Ltd (a concern of the ALIF Group) for a price of US$1.01 million, which was the lowest price paid at the auction.