Mohammad Shahzad signs with Chitwan Tigers for 2020 Everest Premier League

The fourth edition of Nepal’s Everest Premier League will be seeing a host of international stars coming their way. Apart from the local Nepalese talent, each of the six teams has signed on a foreign player to boost their team’s chances of winning the title, of which Lalitpur Patriots are the defending champions.

The tournament was supposed to be held from 8 December 2019 to 22 December 2019 but it has been rescheduled to begin on 29 February 2020 and will end on 14 March 2020. The league is run by a private group in Nepal run by Aamir Akhtar and Suraj Giri. The first edition of the tournament was held in September 2016. The matches will be played on a single round-robin basis and then playoffs will happen.

Mohammad Shahzad boasts a terrific record in T20Is

Afghanistan’s explosive opener and wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad was signed up by Chitwan Tigers for the upcoming season of Everest Premier League 2020. The wicketkeeper-batsman is known for his burly figure and ability to tear apart any and all bowling attacks on his day. He also boasts of a terrific record in the shortest format of the game with 1936 runs in 65 T20Is with one century and 12 half-centuries to his name at a strike rate of 134.81.

The official Twitter account of the Everest Premier League announced the signing of Shahzad with the post-reading, “JUST IN: Former Afghanistan Opener Mohammad Shahzad has been confirmed by @ChitwanTigers to play the 2020 season of @eplt20official ! #eplt20”

JUST IN: Former Afghanistan Opener Mohammad Shahzad has been confirmed by @ChitwanTigers to play the 2020 season of @eplt20official! #eplt20 pic.twitter.com/wTL4UPEaDc

— EPL – Everest Premier League (@eplt20official) January 29, 2020

In 122 T20 matches, Shahzad has 3551 runs with 23 half-centuries and a ton to his name at an average of 31.70 and a strike rate of 133.84. He also has 111 dismissals in the format, with 149 sixes and 379 fours hit by him. The Tigers also acquired the services of Sompal Kami from Kathmandu Kings XI, in exchange for Dipendra Singh Airee. The amount the player is bought or sold is confidential.

The window for players release for the players not in Category A is January 11 – January 23. Each team can only put their “Category A Player” (as defined by the EPL Committee) up for trade.

Other foreign players to feature in the tournament are Dwayne Smith for Bhairahawa Gladiators, Kevin O’Brien for Kathmandu Kings XI, Upul Tharanga for Lalitpur Patriots and Hashim Amla for Pokhara Rhinos. The tournament will be telecasted live on DSports, who has been signed as the official broadcast partner for the 2020 season. This will be the first time that a domestic sporting event in Nepal will have an international broadcaster as their partner.

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