KATHMANDU, May 29: Nepal national cricket team’s vice-captain Gyanendra Malla has been appointed as brand ambassador of eSewa, an online payment service provider. The one-year agreement was signed by president of F1 Soft International (promoter of eSewa) Bishwas Dhakal and cricketer Malla in Kathmandu on Monday.
As per the deal, the 28-year-old right-handed opening batsman for Nepal will be paid on monthly basis. Malla will also be using the official eSewa sticker on his bat in all his matches, domestic or international.
Gyanendra Malla Citizens Bank’s brand ambassador
“We have been supporting cricket since long, and it always feels good to be able to do so,” said Roshan Lamichhane, CEO of eSewa. “We have received support from major stakeholders of the game on our efforts.”
The total amount of the endorsement has not been disclosed.
“Thank you for accepting our endorsement. We always feel very energetic when it comes to cricket. We have been involved in cricket in different ways for quite some time now. It was as recent as DPL 2 when we were the ticketing partners. Our goal simply is to be the associated with Nepali cricket,” expressed Dhakal.
Malla is the first cricketer and the second public personality (after actor Bipin Karki) to be appointed as a brand ambassador by eSewa. The vice-captain who is currently nursing a hip-injury will miss the inter-provincial Prime Minister Cup. He said the support from the corporate sector comes as an encouragement after decades-long hard work in cricket. “Personally, it feels good to get support after playing for so long. Slowly but steadily, cricket can be seen as a full-time job now that one can take up without worrying about basic requirements. There are many such players in other sports too who needs similar support,” said Malla.
Gyanendra Malla has been mainstay for the Nepal cricket in the last decade contributing to Nepal’s progress through ICC World Cricket league divisions to One-day International status. He also topped the run-charts in the recently concluded Dhangadhi Premier League.
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