National team vice-captain Gyanendra Malla-led Lalitpur Patriots will take on Sompal Kami’s Kathmandu Kings XI in the Everest Premier League opener on December 18 at the Tribhuvan University Stadium grounds.

The highest cash-prized cricket event of the country is participated in by six city-based franchises vying for the title and a cash purse of Rs 2.1 million. Chitwan Tigers, Pokhara Rhinos, Biratnagar Warriors and Bhairahawa Gladiators are the other four teams in the league-cum-knockout tournament.

The four teams after the round robin league will make it to the playoffs. The first and second-placed finishers will meet in the first Qualifier which will send the winners into the final, while the losers will wait to play the winners of the Eliminator match between the third and fourth placed teams.

The opening day match will be followed by the matches between Chitwan Tigers and Pokhara Rhinos, captained by national team veteran left arm spinner Shakti Gauchan on December 19. National team skipper Paras Khadka-led Biratnagar Warriors will play Patriots in the second game of the day. While Rhinos, Warriors and Patriots have already named their captains, others are yet to come up with their skippers officially.

Sharad Vesawkar (Gladiators), Kami (Kings XI) and Dipendra Singh Airee (Tigers) were the marquee players previously unveiled by their respective franchise. The tournament also saw an auction on Oct 26 with Aarif Sheikh, Binod Bhandari, Sandeep Lamichhane and Karan KC sold for maximum bidding price of Rs 175,000.

It has also been made mandatory by the Everest Premier League (EPL) Pvt Ltd to have three foreign-based players in every franchise. The teams are yet to unveil their international recruits.