Nepal is going to host the first ever Asian Premier League (APL) which will be organized by Ultimate Sports Management (USM), an Indian sports company in association with National Sports Council (NSC) at the TU Cricket Ground from June 19 to July 4.
The tournament will feature six franchise teams from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) studded with former and current international players. Meanwhile,only 4 Nepali players have been signed for the Nepali team Nepal Storms.
Team Summary:
Afghanistan Bulls – The team will be captained by former Pakistani pacer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. Hasan is well known in the cricketing community known for his variety and has ample experience in T20 leagues all over the world. The team will be mentored by Pakistani opener Imran Nazir.
Bangladesh Tigers – Al-Amin Hossain will lead the team. The Bangladeshi pacer featured against Nepal in the ICC World T20 2014. Veteran South African batsman Justin Kemp will mentor the side.
Dubai Warriors – UAE international Abdul Shakoor will captain the team. Charles Coventry, who is famous for tying with Saeed Anwar by scoring the highest individual ODI score 194* will mentor the team.
Indian Stars –Innovator of the ‘Dil Scoop’, Tillakaratne Dilshan will be the captain of this side. The team mentor of this franchise is former Indian Test wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra.
Nepal Storms – UAE’s wicketkeeper-batsman Swapnil Patil will captain the team. English all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas will mentor the team.
Sri Lankan Lions – The Lions will be led by former Sri Lankan bowling allrounder Farveez Maharoof. The team is mentored by South African pacer Rusty Theron.
The champion of the tournament will bag Rs 4 million while the runner-up and third place finisher will get Rs 1.6 million and Rs 0.8 million respectively.