There were almost a 1,000 youngsters who had reached the talent hunt event of Kathmandu Gorkhas at the Mulpani-based One Day Cricket Academy on Wednesday. They had one goal: to be selected as the ‘iconic player’ of the franchise.

The competition was high as only one individual out of the big crowd would be selected to play for the Gorkhas at the second edition of the Nepal Premier League.

Hours passed as the coaching staff of the Gorkhas led by coach Basanta Shahi brought down the number to 60 based on the performances. The shortlist was further reduced to 17 players.

In the end, one player caught the biggest attention of the coaching unit—Natarajan Shah, a left-arm pacer.

“I am extremely happy,” Shah said after being selected for the squad. “I want to play at the highest level, and I have been training for it. I even spent one year in Bangalore, India, before returning three-four months ago.”

Shah will receive Rs100,000 as his salary for the NPL.

Meanwhile, alongside Shah, five other players—Atharva Paudel, Shardul Bhatta, Bipin Neupane, Sonu Devkota and Ringjin Lama—were selected for the Gorkhas’ development team. They will train with the Gorkhas’ team and receive Rs25,000 each.