Sri Lankan cricketers to tour Nepal

Kathmandu, March 22

Periwinkle Service is organising the three-match Twenty20 Cricket Series between Gorkha Rhinos and Lankan Lions here at Tribhuvan University Stadium from April 25 to May 1.

Gorkha Rhinos will feature Nepal national team members, while Lankan Lions will have former as well as current Sri Lankan national players, informed Periwinkle Service Chief Executive Officer Dipesh Ghaley at a press meet here

today.

“The series is part of celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Nepal and Sri Lanka. Besides this, we are committed to provide the national cricket team players with the platform to play competitive matches with acclaimed names of global cricket and contribute in enhancing their performance level. We also wish to provide international standard match experience to the Nepali spectators,” said Ghaley.

National team skipper Paras Khadka will lead Gorkha Rhinos, while former Sri Lankan Test player Aravinda De Silva, who played 93 Tests and 308 One Day Internationals, will captain the Lankan Lions. The matches will be played on April 27, 29 and May 1 and the organisers will present gift hampers as prizes to both  teams.

Ghaley informed that current Sri Lankan players Upul Tharanga, Rangana Herath, Dilshan Munaweera, Farveez Maharoof, Sachithra Senanayake and Chamara Silva as well as former internationals Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas, Rumesh Kaluwitharana, Upul Chandana and Kaushalya Weeraratne have confirmed their participation in the matches.

Cricket Players’ Association of Nepal (CPAN) will announce Gorkha Rhinos squad for the event. “We have been able to organise the event after two years of hard work and we will try to bring players from other countries in coming years,” informed Ghaley. He also informed that Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were about to come

with the team but they would not be available because of  their Indian Premier League assignment.

Ghaley said Periwinkle Service would take care of remuneration, airfare and accommodation to Sri Lankan players as well as daily allowance to Nepali players.

Meanwhile, national team as well as Gorkha Rhinos’ skipper Khadka said the tournament would be a perfect platform for the Nepali players to learn from Test players. “We will get time to interact with the players and learn from them,” said Khadka.

Khadka also said the event would spread messages to international communities that Nepal was capable of hosting international events.

Periwinkle Service will also honour first national cricket team skipper Uttam Karmacharya with the lifetime achievement award. It will also honour first women’ team skipper Nary Thapa, President of Cricket Association of Blind, Nepal Pawan Ghimire, men’s team skipper Kritan Shrestha Duwal and women’s team skipper Bhagwati Bhattarai as well as the first ICC Panel umpire Buddhi Pradhan with gift hampers during the event.