Kathmandu, Oct 24: English cricketer Saif Ali Zaib has signed a contract with Sudurpaschim Royals for Nepal Premier League (NPL).
The 26-year-old left arm all-rounder has a lot of experience in English county cricket. Saif Ali, who played against Northants Bats in the England T20 domestic competition held last month, has also been playing regularly in the second tier.
After making his debut in first-class cricket in 2015 at the age of 16, he also played age group cricket for England. In his T20 career, he had a strike rate above 140 and added 1200 runs while bowling part-time and took 12 wickets at an average of 33.
Royals have already signed Scottish all-rounder Brandon McMullen as their first foreign player. Australia’s World Cup-winning former cricketer Brad Hodge is the chief mentor of the team.
Dipendra Singh Airee has been in a role of marquee player of the team while Jagat Tamata is chief trainer of Sudurpaschim Royals.
The NPL game will begin from Mangsir 16 in which 8 teams will be participating. The games have been managed by Nepal Cricket Association (CAN).
Sudurpashchim Royal team
Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Abhinash Bohora, Binod Bhandari, Arjun Kumal, Khadak Bohora, Ishan Pandey, Naresh Budhair, Bhojraj Bhatt, Naren Saud, Amit Shrestha, Brandon McMullen, Saif Ali Zaib.
