Afghan players to hog limelight at KPL

DUBAI The Kerala Premier League (KPL) is fast turning out to be an important tournament in the UAE. Other than increasing the number of participating teams and the prize money for the second edition, the presence of international cricketers is adding charm to the event.

As many as five Afghanistan players will feature in this year’s tournament playing for Wayanad Highlanders.

“Bringing in foreign players adds to the charm. It helps improve the level of cricket and helps in the building confidence of our local players,” said Dubai Cricket Council secretary Mohammad Lokhandwala.

Mohammad Nabi, Dawlat Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Shahzad will arrive in the UAE to be part of the tournament which will be held from November 2 to December 2 at the Dubai Sports Stadium and the ICC Global Cricket Academy grounds under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council.

“This tournament is really exciting in terms of the quality of cricket. All the best cricketers in the UAE are participating and you have foreign players also joining them. So one can witness top level cricket,” Lokhandwala added.

Team director and Highlanders captain Neeraj Ramamoorthy said: “It has always been our desire to make our club — Wings XI CC — one of the best in the UAE. So we have been making efforts and this is another step towards that.

“Getting international players will give our players a great opportunity to spend time with them and gain huge experience. You can also be assured of some quality cricket,” he added.

Wayanad were runners up in the inaugural edition and Ramamoorthy felt having a strong presence of international stars provides them with a bright chance of winning the title.

“We were finalists last year with just two international players. But this year we are highly optimistic since we have five star players in the team,” he added.

The team also wants to involve fans giving them more chances to get closer to the stars.

“We also want to involve the fans who come to watch our matches and are planning special things for them.

“We are planning to give five fans an opportunity to spend an evening with the stars followed by dinner at a top hotel,” he said.

KPL, which had eight teams in the fray in the opening edition last year, has included another four this year to make it 12 teams.

“The newly added teams are Phoenix Medicines Kollam, Capital Kochi Diwans, Globe Link West Star Shipping Pathanamthitta Rajas and Concord Ventures Palakkad Harvesters.

There is also a increase in the total prize money which now stands at Dh185,000 with the title winner walking away with a whooping Dh100,000.

KPL’s Paul T Joseph said: “We are really excited about conducting the second edition and we are planning a host of events during the tournament. We will also conduct a carnival bringing together the cultures of India and the UAE.”