Kushal Malla, the 16-year-old prodigy from Nepal, who holds the record for being the youngest cricketer to score an ODI half century is all set to join Team Abu Dhabi in the upcoming season of the Abu Dhabi T10 league. In a draft event held in the host city on Wednesday, he was signed by Team Abu Dhabi under the Emerging Player Category.
Similarly, two other Nepalese cricketers Sompal Kami and Karan KC were also drafted by the franchise teams Maratha Arabians and Pune Devils respectively. It is going to be the first overseas league for the ‘Miracle Man of Windhoek‘, Karan while Sompal represented Winnipeg Hawks earlier, the team that went on to become the Champions of Global T20 Canada League in 2019.
On an exciting Wednesday night, more than 600 players signed up for this season’s draft, where the players were classified into the following categories: Icon player, category A, category B, category C, UAE and Emerging Players. Each of the eight franchise teams had already signed their iconic players earlier this week for the fourth edition of the T10 league.
‘It was the best news to wake up to this morning. Thank you team Pune Devils for giving me this opportunity. Looking forward to joining the team,’ Karan expressed his joy on his social media account.
Former Skipper of Nepal and ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade nominee, Paras Khadka, who played in the last edition of the T10 League for Team Abu Dhabi was appointed as the Emerging Talent Mentor for the franchise this season.
‘Excited with my new role with Team Abu Dhabi Cricket and looking forward to it.
Hopefully will get to build on this for Nepal cricket to grow at international level through cricketing tie-ups and more opportunities for our cricketers through Team Abu Dhabi,’ he tweeted earlier.
Nepalese spin wizard Sandeep Lamichhane will be busy in the Big Bash League while cricketers Kushal Malla, Sompal Kami and Karan KC will participate in the T10 league along with Paras Khadka who will be seen in a new role in the league, this season.
The Abu Dhabi T10 League is set to commence from January 28, 2021 and will run until February 6, 2021. Twelve matches will be played in the league stages of the tournament, followed by 12 additional matches in the Super League.
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