UAE captain Rohan Mustafa hopes to use Nepal’s Dhangadi Premier League (DPL) as a platform to press his case of winning a major T20 league contract.
The 29-year-old all-rounder left for Kathmandu on Friday evening for the second edition of the T20 tournament, which got underway on Saturday.
Mustafa will line up for Team Chauraha Dhangadhi after being roped in as one of their overseas players for the two-week competition that ends on April 14.
The tournament might not be as high-profile as the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League but it has attracted a number of Nepalese stars including skipper Paras Khadka. Hong Kong batsman Babar Hayat will also feature while Puneet Bisht, who was a member of Delhi Daredevils squad in 2012, is one of nine Indians signed up.
Barring Chirag Suri, who was sold to Gujarat Lions in last year’s IPL, the UAE players have found chances of playing in the elite T20 events hard to come by. And while Mustafa acknowledges the DPL will not be as high quality as the PSL or Big Bash League, it can be a small step in catching the eye of potential coaches.
“Yes of course, it can be a step to getting a T20 contract,” said Mustafa, who was part of the triumphant Kerala Kings squad led by England skipper Eoin Morgan in last year’s T10 League.
“Me and the other UAE players all have an intention of playing in one of the big T20 competitions and I hope to use this tournament as a chance to play my best cricket and hopefully get picked up one day in the future. All I can do is just go out there and give my best and help my team win the title.”
Here I Come Nepal #RuslanDPL2 #Teamchauraha #dpl pic.twitter.com/mumpYExpdd
— Rohan Mustafa (@rohanmustafa88) March 30, 2018
Mustafa got the chance to play in the tournament after a discussion with former national captain Khurram Khan and after holding talks with team officials, it was an opportunity that he simply could not turn down.
“Khurram told me about an opportunity and from that moment I was interested,” he added. “It is a new tournament that has many of Nepal’s national players playing while there are a number of overseas players, so it was something I was very interested in playing in.
“I have played in many countries around the world and I think playing against cricketers you’ve not played against will be a good challenge and one that will help me become a better player.”
He is the only UAE international to be playing in the competition and is hopeful more can follow in his footsteps next year.
“To be honest, I would’ve liked more UAE players to play in this tournament so hopefully some of them will get a chance in the future.”
