Eight Nepali cricketers picked by EU T20 League franchises

KATHMANDU: Eight Nepali cricketers have been picked by the EU T20 League Belgium franchises.

A total of 22 Nepali cricketers had registered their names in the draft for the auction, while two players, Dipendra Singh Airee and Sandeep Lamichhane, had already been picked by two sides.

In the auction held on Tuesday evening in Brussels, national team captain Rohit Paudel was picked by Ghent Gladiators, while Antwerp Anchors selected wicket-keeper batsman Aasif Sheikh. Likewise, JB Bruges selected Anil Kumar Sah, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, and Ishan Pandey.

The JB Bruges franchise is owned by the promoters of Nepal Premier League (NPL) side Janakpur Bolts.

JB Bruges had earlier signed Airee, while Lamichhane was picked by Liège Red Lions.

The EU T20 League features six teams: JB Bruges, Antwerp Anchors, Ghent Gladiators, Liege Red Lions, Akcel United Brussels, and Leuven.

Each team can have a maximum of 18 players, including four from Belgium, four from ICC Associate nations, four from ICC full member nations, and six full member players who have not played international cricket in the last two years.