AB de Villiers set to feature in Nepal’s Everest Premier League
Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers has agreed to feature in Nepal’s T20 tournament, Everest Premier League (EPL). The 2020 edition of the competition was postponed due to COVID-19. However, this year EPL is set to be played from September 25 to October 9. De Villiers is one of the biggest names from the foreign countries to play in the league this season.
Chris Gayle was also signed to feature in the EPL last year for Pokhra Rhinos before the COVID-forced postponement. It also remains to be seen if the Universe Boss is available to play this time around. The likes of Kevin O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Rohan Mustafa, Roelof van der Merwe and Richard Levi are some of the overseas players who feature in the 2018-19 season of EPL.
EPL Managing Director Aamir Akhtar confirmed that AB de Villiers has agreed to play in EPL this year and was delighting while announcing the news. “We are trying our best to bring top international cricketers for EPL to put Nepal in the frame of global cricket. We had tried to bring AB de Villiers previous season as well but he couldn’t be available.
“This edition he has agreed to be here. If nothing comes in between, he will be playing at the TU grounds for sure,” he told Cricketing Nepal.
Teams expected to run behind De Villiers in player drafts
Meanwhile, AB de Villiers’ team is not finalised yet and it is expected that all six teams will go behind him. “I think every franchise will run behind a player like AB de Villiers. We know other teams are also trying to get him like us. We are hoping to rope him into our franchise,” Lalitpur Patriots owner Kishor Maharjan said.
Apart from Pokhra Rhinos and Lalitpur Patriots, Bhairahawa Gladiators, Chitwan Tigers, Biratnagar Warriors and Kathmandu Kings XI are the four other teams who will fight for glory later this year.
As for AB de Villiers, he is gearing up for the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will be keen on helping RCB to win the title for the first time.
