Kathmandu - Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has joined Rotterdam Dockers for the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), adding another major overseas franchise stint to his career.
Sandeep confirmed the move through social media, saying he was honoured to be part of the first Rotterdam Dockers squad. The franchise also shared a player graphic of Sandeep, identifying him as a spinner.
The ETPL is Europe's first ICC-sanctioned franchise T20 league. The tournament is scheduled to be played from August 26 to September 20, 2026, with six city-based franchises from the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland.
Rotterdam Dockers are one of the two Netherlands-based teams in the competition, alongside Amsterdam Flames. The other franchises are Dublin Guardians, Irish Wolves, Edinburgh Castle Rockers and Glasgow Cosmic.
The Dockers have one of the league’s highest-profile ownership groups. South African cricket greats Faf du Plessis, Jonty Rhodes and Heinrich Klaasen acquired the Rotterdam franchise, with Bollywood actor John Abraham later joining as co-owner. Madhukar Shree is the managing partner of the franchise.
Du Plessis will captain Rotterdam, while Klaasen is also part of the team's playing core. The full official squad has not yet been published on the ETPL website, which still lists Rotterdam's squad section as “coming soon”.
The former Nepal captain and leading wicket-taker for Nepal has played in major leagues including the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League, Caribbean Premier League, Pakistan Super League and Bangladesh Premier League.
The ETPL will feature 32 matches and is being developed in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB).
