Nepal Premier League: playing in the mountains takes T20 cricket to new heights
Foreign players enjoy a surprising experience in the Himalayas as Nepal makes third attempt at carving out a niche in the cricket landscape
Glamorgan all-rounder Dan Douthwaite was not alone among the foreign players in being unsure what to expect when he headed to the Himalayas to take part in the inaugural Nepal Premier League (NPL) late last year.
Taking up a playing contract in the mountainous nation of 30 million was always going to be a novel challenge for the Englishman, not least because the Twenty20 league was staged at a ground some 1,350 metres (4,430 feet) above sea level.
“I thought I was going to be constantly out of breath or struggling, but it wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it was going to be,” the 28-year-old recalled of his time playing for the Kathmandu Gurkhas.
“I think I noticed it more so with sixes. When they got the ball it absolutely went miles. A lot of balls … kept going and going and going.
“When you think you’ve hit one straight up and it’s a 70-metre six.”
Apart from the extra flight of the ball at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground near Kathmandu, Douthwaite’s other big takeaway from the experience was the enthusiasm of the Nepali fans.