The third edition of the Dhangadhi Premier League (DPL) has been pushed for two days after the westerly winds brought sudden rain in the city making the ground unplayable.

The tournament was scheduled to begin from Saturday at the Fapla Cricket Ground with defending champions Dhangadhi Stars taking on Biratnagar Kings. It has been raining in Dhangadhi from Wednesday with the rain clouds not yet cleared until Friday.

Organisers Dhangadhi Cricket Academy (DCA) consulted with the teams on Friday and deemed the ground unplayable and decided to postponed it until Monday. Following the rescheduling, the tournament will now have only one reserve day.

According to the new schedule Stars, previously named as Team Chauraha Dhangadhi, will take on Kathmandu Goldens in the opening match on Monday with Rupandehi Challengers meeting Mahendranagar United in the day’s second game. CYC Attariya are the other franchise in the six-team event.

“We are not in a position to organise the matches for the next two days. If few more matches are affected by rain, the team will share points. The rest day will be kept intact,” said Tournament Director Binod Das. Meanwhile, world cricket’s fielding legend Jhonty Rhodes and DCA President Subash Shahi on Friday unveiled the trophy.  

Rhodes is the goodwill ambassador of the tournament. The South African said he had reason to get associated with the Twenty20 league. “I have worked with different teams in different countries. Now, I want to work with those people who want to bring changes,” said Rhodes.

Attariya get White House as sponsors

DHANGADHI: CYC Attariya, one of the six franchises of the Dhangadhi Premier League (DPL), on Friday roped in White House International School and College as their title sponsors. Attariya are scheduled to play Biratnagar Kings in their first match of the tournament. Apart from White House, Attariya are also joined by Rastriya Banijya Bank and Nepal Telecom as co-sponsors.

White House Chairman Yubaraj Sharma and Attariya President Nar Bahadur Rai signed the agreement during a programme.

The financial deal of the sponsorship was not disclosed. South African Ryan Maron is the coach of the Attariya team and his compatriot Jhonty Rhodes is the mentor. Rhodes said he wanted to help at the community level and decided to be a part of DPL (PR)