The Warriors will begin their campaign with a match against Binod Bhandari-led Sagarmatha Legends in the 50-over cricket at the Fapla Cricket grounds in Dhangadi on May 14. Apart from Khadka, Sagar Pun, Ram Naresh Giri, Manjeet Shrestha are among the other cricketers from

current and former national team.

Khadka said his side is raring to go for the title. “We have a young squad which is very focused on the game,” said the national team skipper. “All of us have had our training at the respective regions and the build up to the tournament has also been satisfying. We will have another round of training camp in Dhangadi before the tournament.”

Warriors coach Mahesh Rijal said his team need to be cautious. “Since it is the edition, we should not be carried away by the excitement. We have a young team and hopefully we will get good results,” said Rijal during the team unveiling on Friday.

Vishal Group Executive Director Anuj Agrawal said it was a proud moment for him to be associated with Nepali cricket. “At this point we are focused on building our brand through the NPL,” said Agrawal. “We are just making a contribution to the development of cricket. Our association with cricket itself is a great privilege for us. The team will have our support so that cricket turns more professional in future,” said Agrawal.

Kantipur Gurkhas, Panchakanya Tej, Colors X Factors and Jagdamba giants are the other franchises in the NPL organised by the Cricket Association of Nepal and managed by Zohra Sports Management. The 50-over tournament will be played from May 14-24, while Kathmandu will host Twenty20 tournament from June 4-14. The proposed two-day cricket was officially cancelled for this year.