Former Nepal captain Paras Khadka is set to join spin star Sandeep Lamichhane to feature at the Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket League. The tournament sanctioned by the International Cricket Council is set to light up the cricketing fraternity once again with the shortest format of the game between November 15-24 at the Sheikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

With Lamichhane, already an established name in Twenty20 leagues across the planet, allrounder Khadka has found his place in the tournament after Pakistan’s cricket governing body, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on October 23 that they had revoked the conditional No Objection Certificates (NOCs) handed out to their players for the tournament.

PCB’s decision meant left-arm paceman Mohammed Amir, previously picked by Team Abu Dhabi is to miss out from the tournament. Khadka was signed as the replacement of Amir by Abu Dhabi. It will be the former Nepal skipper’s first major franchise-based experience outside of the domestic T20 circuit in Nepal. Khadka had previously played in USA T20X and T20 event in Singapore. However, the magnitude of those tournaments were not up the ranks.

Khadka’s side Team Abu Dhabi will be captained by English batting all-rounder Moeen Ali and includes another English all-rounder Luke Wright, New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson, Australian paceman Ben Laughlin and Sri Lankan wicket-keeper left-handed batsman Niroshan Dickwella among others.

Meanwhile, Lamichhane was picked by Karnataka Tuskers in the draft of Abu Dhabi T10 League. He previously had played for Kerala Kings in the second edition of the T10 league held last year at Sharjah.

Amir with Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Hasnain, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Nafeez and Imad Wasim among others were the Pakistani cricketers previously scheduled to feature in the tournament. However, they will now attend a fitness camp ahead of their domestic first-class matches. The PCB decision does not bar retired Pakistani cricketers duo Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir from playing at the tournament as they are set to display their aggressive batting at the league.

Eight Teams will be fighting it out at the T10 league this year. Team Abu Dhabi were unveiled as the eighth team in the tournament before the start of the player draft and are to join Karnataka Tuskers, Deccan Gladiators, Delhi Bulls, Northern Warriors, Lahore Qalandars, Bangla Tigers and Maratha Arabians in the mega event.

The brainchild of billionaire businessman, Shaji Ul Mulk, the T10 league is gaining rapid popularity among the ardent followers of the sport for its unique format: 10 overs inside 90 minutes offering fast paced ‘cricketainment’. The tournament is played in a round-robin league format followed by semi-finals and the grand finale.