KATHMANDU, Nov 23: The Everest Premier League (EPL) franchise Lalitpur Patriots Thursday announced names of three foreign players as per the mandatory provision for the upcoming season scheduled to start on December 8 at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu.
Patriots, led by Nepal national cricket team vice-captain Gyanendra Malla, has rewarded the excellent performances by wicket keeper-batsman Jay Kishan Kolsawala and all rounder Sunny Patel from last year’s edition by retaining them for this year as well. Both are from India.
Kolsawala, 29 years old, plays domestic cricket in Baroda and has featured in two T20 matches along with four List A matches. He also played for Kathmandu Goldens in Dhangadhi Premier League and Kathmandu Royals in Pokhara Premier League (PPL) earlier this season. Whilst, 31-year-old Patel has featured in 7 List A matches for Gujarat scoring a total of 179 runs with a highest score of 53 not out. He also represented Goldens in same league and Chitwan Rhinos in PPL.
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Similarly, Patriots have replaced last year’s fast bowler Subodh Bhati with batsman Gaurav Tomar. The 27 years old from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh impressed on his debut stint in Nepal in PPL for Royals. He made his T20 debut against Rajasthan in March 21, 2013 at Nagpur. Patriots, Royals and Goldens are all captained by Malla.
As per the tournament regulations, all teams are required to include at least three foreign players in their 15-member squad and playing eleven. The Patriots has also retained Malla as captain of the franchise-who is also the marquee player of the team in the previous season. Patriots also extended the contract for Raju Basnyat as the head coach of the franchise.
Coach Basnyat spoke highly of the foreign players and their experiences which are set to bolster the squad. “Addition of these three talented and experienced Indian cricketers into our squad will surely further add the depth and balance of our team. We are now stronger than what we were last year. I am confident that our boys will learn a lot from them while sharing the same dressing room and during the matches. Overall, we have a very balanced team now,” said Basnyat.
