All-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee of the Nepali National Cricket Team left for Canada on Thursday to participate in the Global T20 League Canada. Another Nepalese cricketer, Sandeep Lamichhane, left for Canada on Wednesday to play in the same league.
Dipendra, who will be playing in a foreign franchise league for the first time, will represent the Montreal Tigers. The coach of the Tigers is Dave Whatmore, who was the former coach of the Nepalese cricket team. Whatmore played a significant role in getting Arie into the team.
Montreal Tigers will play their first match in the league on Saturday against Sandeep Lamichhane’s team, the Surrey Jaguars. If both Sandeep and Dipendra make it to the final eleven, it will be interesting to see the competition between them on opposing teams.
The Montreal Tigers also have star Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan. Similarly, the team includes players like West Indies star batsman Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sherfane Rutherford, Australia’s Chris Lynn, and Afghanistan’s Zahir Khan.
Sandeep’s team, the Surrey Jaguars, includes players like Ben Cutting from Australia, Alex Hales from England, Liton Das from Bangladesh, and Mohammad Haris and Iftikhar Ahmed from Pakistan.
Sandeep represented the Montreal Tigers and Toronto Nationals in the previous edition of the Global T20 League in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Another Nepalese cricketer, Sompal Kami, also played in the 2019 season. After a hiatus due to various reasons, the league is now resuming, and Sandeep is set to participate in the third consecutive season.
