Nepal take cricket to new heights with T20 league
Glamorgan all-rounder Dan Douthwaite was not alone among the foreign players in being unsure what to expect when he headed to the Himalayas to take part in the inaugural Nepal Premier League (NPL) late last year.
Taking up a playing contract in the mountainous nation of 30 million was always going to be a novel challenge for the Englishman, not least because the Twenty20 league was staged at a ground some 1,350 metres above sea level. "I thought I was going to be constantly out of breath or struggling, but it wasn't actually as bad as I thought it was going to be," the 28-year-old recalled of his time playing for the Kathmandu Gurkhas.
"I think I noticed it more so with sixes. When they got the ball it absolutely went miles. A lot of balls ... kept going and going and going. "When you think you've hit one straight up and it's a 70-metre six."
Apart from the extra flight of the ball at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground near Kathmandu, Douthwaite's other big takeaway from the experience was the enthusiasm of the Nepali fans.
"Cricket in Nepal is probably like the Premier League in England ... there's a kind of almost Indian cricket feel about the way people appreciate and love the game," he told Reuters.
The NPL hopes the passion of the fans, combined with the country's unique geography and society, will carve out a niche in a landscape dominated by the likes of the IPL and Australia's Big Bash League.
"We're rich in terms of nature," said Sandesh Katwal, the chief executive of the Gurkhas, one of eight NPL franchises. "It's a beautiful country and we're a friendly, welcoming people. The weather, the hospitality suits international players." Former England batting all-rounder and IPL veteran Ravi Bopara, who turned out for Chitwan Rhinos, said it was a great experience, even if he turned down the offer of a helicopter trip to Everest Base Camp.
A modest budget meant the NPL could not attract the really big names in the sport. All eight NPL franchises fetched a combined price of under 169 million Nepali rupees ($1.23 million) at an auction held last September. Prize money for the champions, Janakpur Bolts, was around $81,000.
A rushed first season also made it difficult to recruit international players, Katwal said. Nevertheless, the NPL proved to be an effective proving ground for Nepal's domestic talent. Katwal said he hoped the NPL would provide that valuable competitive experience, as the IPL has done for young Indian talents.
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