Chitwan Tigers on Wednesday announced the signing of English county player John Andrew Simpson for this season’s Everest Premier League (EPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament.

The 30-year-old wicket-keeper and left-handed batsman currently plays for Middlesex. Simpson also represented England in the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. He has the experience of playing 140 First Class, 84 List ‘A’ and 94 Twenty20 matches. 

“We could fare well last season and felt the need to bolster out team with the inclusion of the experienced foreign cricketer like Simpson. 

We hope the addition of Simpson would provide more spark and excitement in the team,” Tigers said in a statement.

Dipendra Singh Airee is the marque player of Tigers. Prithu Baskota, Dilip Nath, Sandeep Sunar, Bhim Sarki, Lalit Singh Bhandari, Kamal Singh Airee and Sahab Alam are the other members of the team. Rhinos have released Sunam Gautam and Yogendra Singh Karki from the previous season, while brining in Adil Khan, Ishan Pandey and Sagar Dhakal this season.

As per the EPL regulations each of the six franchises require to include three international recruits in their playing squad for the tournament. Simpson is the second international recruit for Tigers following the signing of Ireland opener Paul Stirling, who the team hired last week.

Defending champion Biratnagar Warriors, last year’s losing finalist  Bhairahawa Gladiators, Pokhara Rhinos, Lalitpur Patriots and Kathmandu  Kings are the others teams franchised-based tournament. Simpson joins the growing list of international recruits for this season. Other big names associated with EPL this season includes the Netherlands international Ryan ten Doeschate, Richard Levi of South Africa, Kyle Coetzer of Scotland and Kevin O’Brien of Ireland.