South Africa's premier left-arm off-spinner Keshav Maharaj is set to join Fortune Barishal for a stint in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024 season.
Maharaj is expected to arrive in Bangladesh on Tuesday, February 13 and will most likely be available for their fixture on Wednesday against Durdanto Dhaka at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
Maharaj's addition can add a lot of value to Fortune Barishal as they are fourth on the points table and have to do well in their upcoming four games to ensure that they at least maintain their spot. The top four teams at the end of the group stage will qualify for the playoffs.
Fortune Barishal have played a total of eight games thus far and have won four and conceded the same number of games. They have accumulated eight points and have a net run rate (NRR) of 0.365.
Notably, Maharaj is one of the most experienced spinners going around in T20 cricket at the moment. The Durban-born has played 154 matches and snared 126 scalps at an impressive economy rate of 6.87.
He was the captain of Durban's Super Giants in the recently concluded edition of the SA20 and led them to the finals. Maharaj was fairly impressive in the tournament and led from the front as he bagged 15 wickets in 13 games and finished as the leading wicket-taker for the side.
His economical side was again on display as he conceded runs at just 7.30 per over.
Bangladesh Premier League 2024 Points Table:
| Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Points | Net Run rate |
| Rangpur Riders | 8 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 1.613 |
| Comilla Victorians | 7 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 1.130 |
| Chattogram Challengers | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10 | -0.505 |
| Fortune Barishal | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0.365 |
| Khulna Tigers | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 0.360 |
| Sylhet Strikers | 9 | 3 | 6 | 6 | -1.054 |
| Durdanto Dhaka | 9 | 1 | 8 | 2 | -1.452 |
