Janakpur Bolts, a team in the Nepal Premier League (NPL), has signed renowned New Zealand cricketer James Neesham.
The team, which has Aasif Sheikh as its marquee player, announced via social media that they have brought in the Kiwi star as their first foreign signing. Earlier, Janakpur Bolts had appointed former national team coach Pubudu Dassanayake as their head coach.
Neesham, who has played in prominent leagues around the world, is set to be the most high-profile player in the Nepal Premier League.
The 34-year-old Neesham is a batting all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls right-arm fast. He has represented New Zealand in 12 Test matches, 76 One-Day Internationals, and 79 T20 Internationals.
In T20s, Neesham has scored 944 runs in 63 innings at an average of 22.47 and a strike rate of 154.50. With the ball, he has taken 39 wickets in 53 innings at an average of 27.64 and a strike rate of 18.2. Neesham made his T20 International debut for New Zealand in 2012 against South Africa.
Besides marquee player Aasif Sheikh, Janakpur Bolts’ squad includes Lalit Rajbanshi, Anil Kumar Sah, Kishore Mahato, Rupesh Singh, Shubh Kansakar, Sher Malla, Hemant Dhami, Arniko Prasad Yadav, and Tul Bahadur Thapa Magar.
