KATHMANDU, Dec 22: Although his team had to settle for the runner-up position of the inaugural season of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), Sudurpaschim Royals’ captain Dipendra Singh Airee drove home after the final match in a brand new car he bagged after being adjudged the domestic player of the tournament.
Airee won the prize of OMODA E5 Electric SUV after winning the title of the best Nepali player in the tournament. The market value of the prize car is around Rs 6.2 million. Airee accumulated an impressive 227 runs in the tournament while also claiming nine wickets and catching out three batsmen.
Life on wheels
Janakpur Bolts’ Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi was adjudged the best bowler of the tournament as he took the highest number of wickets, 17 in total, and maintained a miserly economy of 5.32 runs per over while also bowling five maiden overs. He was awarded an Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2 motorbike, worth around Rs 1 million as prize for the accolade.
Similarly, Royals’ Saif Zaib was adjudged the best player of the tournament, for which he was awarded a Rs 500,000 cash prize. Bolts’ James Neesham was awarded Rs 200,000 for the highest strike rate of 196.03 in the tournament while Lahiru Milantha was also awarded Rs 200,000 for hitting the highest number of fours (35) in the tournament. Karnali Yaks’ 16-year-old bowler Bipin Sharma was awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and scholarship worth Rs 1 million for being adjudged the emerging player of the tournament.
