Kathmandu, January 5

The skippers and owners of the franchise-based Sagarmatha Cement Dhangadhi Premier League were revealed here amidst a press meet today.

A total of six teams will take part in the tournament, organised by Dhangadhi Cricket Academy, scheduled for March 18 to April 1 at the SSP cricket grounds in Dhangadhi. National cricket team skipper Paras Khadka will lead the Team Chauraha Dhangadhi owned by Raj Kumar Shrestha, while his deputy Gyanendra Malla is the team captain of CYC Attariya which is owned by Sirjanshil Youth Club.

Sharad Vesawkar is the skipper of the Paras Luniya-owned Biratnagar Kings, whereas Basant Regmi will lead Kathmandu Goldens owned by Golden Gate International College. Shakti Gauchan is the skipper of Rupandehi Challengers owned by SR Group, while Binod Bhandari will lead Kanchapur Iconic owned by Pitambar Joshi.

The captains were selected through a draw from among the 217 players who registered for the tournament and they will earn Rs 150,000 each, informed the organisers. “The remaining players will be auctioned on Saturday and we made it mandatory for all the teams that each of them must have at least four uncapped players in the squad,” said DCA President Subash Shahi.

The organisers have set Rs 50,000 as base amount for national team players with at least 15 caps, while the base amount for national team players with less than 15 caps and U-19 team members is Rs 30,000. Likewise, the base amount for former age-group players is set at Rs 25,000 and the money for uncapped players is Rs 20,000. “We are still working with Cricket Players Association of Nepal (CPAN) on the details of the players’ auction but we have set a limit of Rs 700,000 for each team,” Shahi said.

Division of players for auction

Base amount

Players’ categories

Rs 50,000

Current national team players with at least 15 caps

Rs 30,000

National players (less than 15 caps), U-19 players

Rs 25,000

Former age-group team members

Rs 20,000

Uncapped players

DPL participating teams, skippers, owners and co-owners

Team

Skippers

Owners

Co-owners

CYC Attariya

Gyanendra Malla

Sirjanshil Youth Club

Biratnagar Kings

Sharad Vesawkar

Mahalaxmi Cable

Prafulla Vaidhya

Kathmandu Goldens

Basant Regmi

Golden Gate International College

Rupandehi Challengers

Shakti Gauchan

SR Group

Kanchanpur Iconic

Binod Bhandari

Pitambar Joshi

Ashok Pandey, Dhiraj Bohara, Dr Netra Raj Chataut, Laxmi Pandey

Team Chauraha Dhangadhi

Paras Khadka

Raj Kumar Shrestha, Surya Gurung, Shahnawaj Alam, Gagan KC, Pushkar Ojha

The teams will play against each other in round robin format and the top four will make it to the playoff. The winner of the match between top two will make it to the final, while the losing team will get another chance to make it to the championship match. They will play against the winners of the third and fourth placed match. The champions will earn Rs 1.5 million, while the runners-up will get Rs 700,000. “This is the biggest tournament in the history of Nepali cricket in terms of cash purse as we have set aside Rs 2.8 million in prize money,” said DCA President Shahi. The man-of-the-match in every game will receive Rs 10,000, while the player-of-the-series will get a TVS RTR 200 Apache motorcycle sponsored by Jagdamba Motors and JB Automobile. The estimated budget of the tournament is Rs 10.6m.

The organisers are also establishing a fund to help in the education of children of late cricket coach Arjun Khadka apart of contributing to Dream Fapla project. “We will contribute 20 per cent of the gate collection for the education of the coach’s children, while we will give 15 per cent each to Dream Fapla project to construct an international stadium in Dhangadhi and the participating teams,” Shahi added.

Ghorahi Cement Pvt Ltd is the main sponsor of the tournament, while Hotel Divotee, Bells Café, Om Palace, Raika Tours and Travels, Dakshinkali Incorporated, Hotel Jalsa and Chaudhary Book Depot are the co-sponsors. Likewise, the tournament is supported by National Sports Council, Nepal Tourism Board, Kailali District Development Committee, Dhangadhi Municipality, CPAN, Hotel Entrepreneurs Association Kailali, Far-western Transportation Entrepreneurs Association and Kailali Chamber of Commerce and Industry.