KATHMANDU, March 27: United Attariya Sports Club (UASC) is set to organize the Attariya Cup Women's T20 Cricket Tournament in Attariya of Kailali from April 23 to May 3.
Tournament that will be played at Armed Police Force (APF)'s cricket ground, Attariya will feature six domestic teams led by national captain and players who have represented Nepal at international stage.
At a press conference in the capital on Monday, UASC's President Rabi Khanal informed that the tournament will see the participation of departmental team APF, Milan Cricket Academy (MCA) of Kakarbhitta and Rising Cricket of Uman. Similarly two teams from Far-western Region--Kailali District Cricket Academy (KDCA) and Kanchanpur XI -- along with Bara Women's Cricket Club of Simara will also take part in the competition.
The departmental side APF will be led by Nepal international Bina Budha Magar while national team captain Rubina Chhetri is named captain of MCA. Similarly, Arati Bidari will lead Rising Cricket, two far-western teams have Anjali Chand and Bindu Rawal as skippers respectively and Bara will be captained by Manisha Chaulagain.
All the six teams will be divided into two groups where they will compete in the round robin format. Top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. The champion of the competition will win a purse of Rs 200,000 while the runner-up will be rewarded with Rs 100,000.
Meanwhile, national team skipper Rubina Chhetri said that the tournament will help in the growth of Nepali women's cricket. “This tournament is very positive initiation for the development of women's cricket in the country. As Nepali women cricketers don't have many tournaments to take part, such event will be very helpful to build up their confidence,” said Chhetri, who is leading MCA in the tournament.
The participating teams are allowed to bring in four foreign players in their squad. Though none of the teams have formally signed foreign players, some team captains informed they are in talks to invite players from fellow South Asian nations. MCA captain Chettri informed that her team is in touch with some Indian players based in Delhi. “We have invited two young Indian players from Delhi, they are likely to join us in the tournament,” said Chhetri.
Similarly, Arati Bidari, captain of Rising Cricket, also informed that her team has approached Bangladesh's national team captain and vice captain.“They are positive to our approach, they will join our team if their domestic and national team schedule doesn't clash with our tournament. And we also have approached some Pakistani players as well,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bina Budha Magar of APF said that her team has already set the squad and is not looking to bring in any new players. “We have our own team so we won't be adding any new players,” said Bina.
Beside the cash prizes for the champion and runner-up, there is cash prize for best players as well. The player of the series will be rewarded with Rs 10,000 while other best players in each position - best batswoman, best bowler, best wicketkeeper-will be given Rs 5000 each. Similarly, player of the match will also be rewarded with Rs 3000.
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