Everest Premier League (EPL) (Nepali: एभरेष्ट प्रिमियर लिग) is a franchise Twenty20 cricket tournament organized by EPL Pvt. Ltd., a private group in Nepal. It is the biggest cricket tournament in the country, 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.[citation needed] The first edition of the tournament was held in September 2016 with six franchises consisting of domestic and international players. Chitwan Tigers are the defending champions after winning the 2021 season.[1]
 Logo of Everest Premier League | |
| Countries |  Nepal |
|---|---|
| Administrator | EPL Pvt Ltd |
| Format | T20 |
| First edition | 2016 |
| Latest edition | 2021 |
| Tournament format | Double round-robin and Knockout |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Current champion | Chitwan Tigers |
| Most successful | Biratnagar Warriors Chitwan Tigers Lalitpur Patriots Panchakanya Tej (1 title each) |
| Most runs | Sunil Dhamala (477) |
| Most wickets | Karan KC (26) |
| TV | List of broadcaster |
| Website | eplt20 |
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.[2] 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 (Wai Wai).[3][4]
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.[5]
| Team | Owner[6] | Captain | Founded | Home Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhairahawa Gladiators | Aditya Shanghai | Sharad Vesawkar | 2017 | Siddhartha Rangasala |
| Biratnagar Warriors | Vishal Agrawal | Karan KC | 2017 | Baijanathpur Cricket Ground |
| Chitwan Tigers | Kishore Bhattarai | Sompal Kami | 2017 | Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium |
| Kathmandu Kings XI | Rohit Gupta | Sandeep Lamichhane | 2017 | Mulpani Cricket Stadium |
| Lalitpur Patriots | Kishore Maharjan | Kushal Bhurtel | 2017 | Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground |
| Pokhara Rhinos | Shahil Agrawal | Binod Bhandari | 2017 | Pokhara Rangsala |
Former teams
In the 2016 edition, the teams in the tournament were based on corporate sectors.
| Team | Owner(s)[7] | Captain | Head coach | Dissolved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishal Warriors | Vishal Group | Paras Khadka | Mahesh Rizal | 2016 |
| Colors X-Factors | Teletalk Private Limited | Gyanendra Malla | Manzoor Alam | 2016 |
| Jagdamba Rhinos | Shanker Groups | Shakti Gauchan | Navin Singh | 2016 |
| Panchakanya Tej | Panchakanya Groups | Sharad Vesawkar | Kalam Ali | 2016 |
| Kantipur Gurkhas | Kantipur Publications | Basanta Regmi | Samson Jung Thapa | 2016 |
| Sagarmatha Legends | Ghorahi Cements | Binod Bhandari | Jagat Tamatta | 2016 |
Tournament seasons and results
EPL overall season results
All season's results are in a table.[8]
| Season | Final venue | Final | Player of the series | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||
| 2016 Details | TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur | Panchakanya Tej 171/4 (20 overs) | Tej won by 40 runs Scorecard | Colors X-Factors 131 (17.3 overs) | Sompal Kami (Jagdamba Rhinos) |
| 2017 Details | TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur | Biratnagar Warriors 149/7 (20 overs) | Warriors won by 1 run Scorecard | Bhairahawa Gladiators 148/9 (20 overs) |  Babar Hayat (Biratnagar Warriors) |
| 2018 Details | TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur | Lalitpur Patriots 155 (19.1 overs) | Patriots won by 14 runs Scorecard | Bhairahawa Gladiators 141/9 (20 overs) |  Ravi Inder Singh (Bhairahawa Gladiators) |
| 2021 Details | TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur | Chitwan Tigers 114/6 (15.5 overs) | Tigers won by 4 wickets Scorecard | Pokhara Rhinos 111 (17.5 overs) | Sagar Dhakal (Chitwan Tigers) |
Team's performance
Broadcasting
- Kantipur Gold (2016)
- Eurosport (2019–2021) [9][10]
- AP1 Television (2017–2019)
- 1Sports (2020–present)
- Himalaya TV (2021–present)
- 1sports (2022- present)[11]