Everest Premier League


Everest Premier League is a franchise Twenty20 cricket tournament organized by EPL Pvt. Ltd., a private group in Nepal run by Aamir Akhtar and Suraj Giri. The biggest cricket tournament in the country, it is played during the northern winter calendar, mostly in the month of December. It is played in round-robin format in which top four teams qualify for the playoffs. The tournament is renowned for having high attendance among the domestic cricket of the ICC associate nations. The first edition of the tournament was held in September 2016 with six franchises consisting of domestic and international players. Lalitpur Patriots are the defending champions after winning 2018 season.

History

Everest Premier League was unveiled on 24 February 2014 in a press conference held at Hotel Radisson. Zohra Sports Management and Cricket Association of Nepal had an exclusive agreement to introduce NPL for an initial three years.
On 13 May 2014 a handful of CAN members issued a press release claiming CAN had pulled out as the organizers of the tournament. In 2016, EPL was announced from September 24 to October 3 in TU Cricket Ground. While a majority of CAN members resigned from NPL Governing Council, the then President, Tanka Angbuhang still continued to promote the event stating that the decision made was unofficial and without his knowledge. The sponsor for 2014 was C.G. Foods.

Teams

Current teams

Each team consisted of 15 players. Among them 10 players were bought by each team through auction. A talent hunt was conducted by each team in their respective cities to acquire a young player in their squad. Similarly, the teams also included at least three foreign players in their side.
TeamOwnerCaptainFounded
Bhairahawa GladiatorsAditya Shanghai Sharad Vesawkar2017
Biratnagar WarriorsVishal Agrawal Paras Khadka2017
Chitwan TigersKishore Bhattarai Prithu Baskota2017
Kathmandu Kings XITele Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Sompal Kami2017
Lalitpur PatriotsKishore Maharjan Gyanendra Malla2017
Pokhara RhinosShahil Agrawal Kyle Coetzer2017

Former teams

In the 2016 edition, the teams in the tournament were based on corporate sectors.
TeamOwnerCaptainHead coachDissolved
Vishal WarriorsVishal Group Paras Khadka Mahesh Rizal2016
Colors X-FactorsTeletalk Private Limited Gyanendra Malla Manzoor Alam2016
Jagdamba RhinosShanker Groups Shakti Gauchan Navin Singh2016
Panchakanya TejPanchakanya Groups Sharad Vesawkar Kalam Ali2016
Kantipur GurkhasKantipur Publications Basanta Regmi Samson Jung Thapa2016
Sagarmatha LegendsGhorahi Cements Binod Bhandari Jagat Tamatta2016

Tournament seasons and results