In 2016, a private group in Nepal initiated the T20 franchise tournament as Everest Premier League (EPL) which is the biggest T20 tournament in Nepal. The previous two edition had been a successful one, and 2018 will be the third edition. There is 6 franchise team from across the country who will first play in a round robin league. The top four teams in round-robin league play in Knockout stage.
To provide exposure to the young and local talents, it’s compulsory to include at least three international players in the squad. Its hard for the team in the country like Nepal to bring big International names but 2017 edition saw some first-class cricketer from India and Pakistan and some star players from associate nations. Pakistan's all-rounder in the first class cricket, Israrullah was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament as well as among the top batsman. Praveen Gupta was another name from Indian cricket who was among the third most wicket-taker in the tournament. Babar Hayat and Anshuman Rath from Hong Kong had the most runs in the tournament, and are the brightest name in the Associate nation. For the associate nation like Nepal, it is a huge achievement to attract some International players. In the 2018 edition, we will see some big names playing in the tournament.
- Sikandar Raza
The Zimbabwean allrounder is among the top player to play in Everest Premier League (EPL) 2018 from Kathmandu Kings. He is playing international cricket for Zimbabwe national team since 2013 in all formats. He has played 10 test matches, 82 ODI matches and 28 T20I matches for Zimbabwe. He has scored 762 runs in test cricket, 2256 runs in ODI and 382 runs in T20I. He can also bowl Right Arm Off Break bowling. He has 13 wickets in the test, 45 wickets in ODI and 9 wickets in T20I. He is one of the best all-rounders of Zimbabwe during his time and will surely add more excitements in EPL.
- Kevin O’Brien
The Irish all-rounder will play Everest Premier League (EPL) from Kathmandu Kings. He is considered as the best ever Irish cricketer. He is famous for his aggressive batting style and Right-arm medium-fast bowling too. He holds the record for fastest century scored at World Cup. He was the key player that defeated test nation Bangladesh in Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2009. He will be one of the most entertaining players in this EPL, and an exciting player to watch with his aggressive style of batting.
- Babar Hayat
The Hong-Kong international cricketer will play in this Everest Premier League (EPL) from Biratnagar Kings. He is considered as the best current T20I batsman from Associate nations. He has scored 541 T20I runs in 24 matches for HK. He played the previous edition of EPL and got the most run in the tournament. In his 7 innings, he scored 313 runs with an average of 44.71 and a strike rate of 139.11. He was among the most love batsman in the tournament in the previous edition.
- Rohan Mustafa
The United Arab Emirates international cricketer will play in this Everest Premier League (EPL) from Kathmandu Kings. He is the captain of United Arab Emirates and has experience of playing in Nepali pitch. The UAE all-rounder has scored 411 runs in 24 T20I matches and also taken 19 wickets. It will be another International player to watch out for in this tournament.
Some other big names like Max Holden, James Fuller, Anshuman Rath, Mohammad Naveed will also play in the upcoming EPL. The young Max Holden captained English team in the U19 cricket and now play for Middlesex in the county cricket. The South African Cricketer, James Fuller also plays for Middlesex in the county cricket and both of them were signed by Chitwan Tigers.
With these renowned name coming in, EPL is going to be an exciting opportunity for Nepalese cricketer to grow and learn from them. Also, EPL is trying its best to get renowned as best T20 Cricket League among Associate nations.
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