Kathmandu, July 18
The Cricket Association of Nepal has announced the names of four of the six teams that will take part in the first edition of the Nepal T20 League.
The four teams are Kantipur Capitals, Biratnagar Super Kings, Janakpur Royals and Lumbini All Stars. Two more teams will be confirmed soon, informs CAN General Manager Prashant Malla.
CAN, in May, had announced that six teams would take part in the T20 league and issued a call for tenders to own teams based in Biratnagar, Janakpur, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bhairahawa and Sudurpaschim.
Nepal T20 League will be Nepal’s first official T20 being held by CAN. The International Cricket Council has already given permission to hold the event.
CAN hopes Nepal T20 League will help change the face of cricket in the country. The tournament is expected to start on September 24.
Operators of Everest Premier League, however, have filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against CAN asking the apex court for an interim stay order to stop CAN from going ahead with its plan to start its own T20 league.
The teams are mostly owned by Nepalis, but Lumbini All Stars and Janakpur Royals are owned by people in the US and India respectively.
“It’s normal for foreigners to invest in leagues. We’ve seen that in football and in the Indian Premier League too. The ICC also doesn’t stop us from doing so,” says Malla. “We want to involve people who have the intentions to develop Nepali cricket.”
