Captain Rohit and Vice-Captain Dipendra Among Eight Nepalese Players to Participate in EU T20 League in Belgium

For the first time, the EU T20 League is set to debut, featuring participation from eight Nepalese players. Nepal’s cricket team captain, Rohit Paudel, has been signed in Category ‘B’ by the Gent Gladiators. Vice-captain Dipendra Lamichhane has already been pre-signed by JB Bruges, while Sandeep Lamichhane has been pre-signed by the Liège Red Lions.

Following today’s draft, Rohit and four other players secured contracts with various teams. Anil Sah and Gulshan Jha were selected through the optional round. Wicketkeeper Asif Sheikh was signed in Category ‘C’ by the Antwerp Anchors. Additionally, Lalit Rajbanshi and Ishan Pandey were drafted by JB Bruges.

A total of 22 Nepalese players registered for the league. Aside from those already pre-signed and drafted, players such as Kushal Bhurtel, Arif Sheikh, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Aditya Mehta, Sher Malla, Lokesh Bam, Binod Bhandari, Sharad Bheshavkar, Adil Alam, Santosh Yadav, Kushal Malla, Bhim Sarki, Shahab Alam, Gulshan Jha, and Pawan Sarraf also remain in contention.

For Lalit, Asif, and Ishan, this will mark their first experience playing in a league outside Nepal. Meanwhile, captain Rohit, Dipendra, and Sandeep have previously played in franchise leagues abroad. The league mandates that each team must include at least four Belgian players, with a total of twelve Belgian players selected so far.