NPL: Janakpur & Kathmandu taking on in inaugural today

KATHMANDU: Defending champions Janakpur Bolts and Kathmandu Gurkhas are taking in the opening match of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) beginning today.

The match will begin at 4.00 pm this afternoon in the Kirtipur-based International Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground.

In the first edition of the NPL, Janakpur had easily defeated Kathmandu.

Janakpur which was under the leadership of Pubudu Dassanayake, also the former coach of the Nepali national team, in the first edition now is playing under the leadership of Shivnarine Chadrapaul of the West Indies.

Likewise, Kathmandu has appointed Monti Desai of India as the main coach of iots team for the second edition. Monti is also the former chief coach of the Nepali national team.

Janakpur Bolts

Janakpur Bolts enter the season under the guidance of West Indies coach Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with Anil Kumar Sah serving as captain. Their marquee player is Aasif Sheikh.

Key Nepali players include:

• Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi

• Kishore Mahato

• Rupesh Singh

• Subash Khakurel

• Tul Magar

• Mayan Yadav

• Sachin Bhatt

• Bikash Agri

• Aditya Mahata

Foreign signings strengthen the squad with:

• South Africa: Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir

• Sri Lanka: Lahiru Samarakoon, Sangeeth Cooray

• USA: Lahiru Milantha, Sanjay Krishnamurthy

• Namibia: Jan Nicol Loftie

Kathmandu Gurkhas

Kathmandu Gurkhas are coached by India’s Monty Desai, with Karan KC leading the side as captain.

Domestic lineup includes:

• Bhim Sharki

• Shahab Alam

• Dipesh Kandel

• Rashid Khan

• Pratik Shrestha

• Mohammad Adil Alam

• Uttam Thapa Magar

• Akash Tripathi

• Tul Bahadur Thapa

• Santosh Yadav

• Sonu Devkota

Foreign recruits feature:

• England: John Simpson

• South Africa: Ricardo Vasconcelos

• Middle-order additions: Erasmus, Ben Charlesworth

• USA: Milind Kumar

• India: Sunny Patel

As the opening match approaches, excitement is building to see how both teams—packed with experience and international talent—will perform on the field.