Shah's passion for cricket keeps him busy in Australian club to Sudurpaschim Royals

By Kamal Kumar Basnet, Kathmandu, Nov 16: For Swatantra Pratap Shah, his passion for cricket is so intense that it has brought him to Nepal all the way from Australia where he is based. 

Shah, who is living in Australia for more than two decades, has been running a cricket club there. He is currently in Nepal for the Nepal Premier League (NPL) Cricket Tournament.

"The interest shown by the world-class players in the very first edition of NPL and their tie-up with various clubs playing the NPL has highlighted the importance of the tournament. This has really lifted our spirits up," he shared in a conversation with RSS recently.  

Also the owner of the Sudurpaschim Royals, Shah is busy like a bee in the run up to NPL which kicks off on November 30. 

"Not many days are left until NPL kicks off. I am extremely busy in the signing-up of foreign players and the sponsors for the NPL. The entry of international broadcaster and players has made the NPL more exciting," Shah said. 

According to him, the interest of the general spectators and business companies has been growing towards NPL.

Shah's company - Empire Sports Management Pvt Ltd – has bought Sudurpascim Royals, one of the eight teams playing in the NPL, for Rs 16 million 888 thousand and 88.

Elaborating about his engagements in Australia, Shah said, "I have been managing the Empire Lions Cricket Club in Brisbane, Queensland of Australia. Cricket leagues are organized annually there as well. The players are selected through bidding like here. The 'craze' for cricket that grew inside me in Australia has drawn me to NPL."

Although he had a general interest in cricket during his school life here in Nepal, he was a taekwondo player at one time. He was the contemporary of Nepal's renowned taekwondo player Deepak Bista, who is currently the brand ambassador of Sudurpaschim Royals.

Shah, from Tikapur of Nepal, completed his school education in 1998. He came to Kathmandu for his higher secondary (Plus Two) education. He then went to Singapore in 2001 to study Diploma in Business Administration after completing Plus Two. From Singapore he went to Australia in 2003 to pursue Advanced Diploma Course. 

On completion of his Advance Degree in Migration Law in Australia, Shah forayed into business in 2010. At one time, he had been operating five restaurants in Australia.

He is currently the Secretary of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) and also the founder president of the International Youth Entrepreneurs Federation established in 2021. The Federation has its presence in 12 countries.

The process has been forwarded for construction of a five-star hotel in Dhangadhi under his leadership.

He said that the Federation has been formed with the goal of creating opportunities for collective investment in Nepal by bringing together the Nepali youth entrepreneurs scattered around the world. 

The Federation is organizing its first international conference in Hong Kong on November 29 and 30, where more than 200 Nepali youth entrepreneurs from around the world will assemble, Shah said. 

"I was thinking of contributing something for the development of cricket in Nepal. The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced the auction for NPL sometimes back and this became the best opportunity for me to connect with Nepali cricket sector," he shared. 

Shah is of the view of building cricket infrastructures expeditiously in Nepal also for the NPL. He believes that NPL could be the foundation for the development of cricket in Nepal.   

He is also associated with the Queensland Nepali Cricket League in Australia since 2019. He plans to take the Sudurpaschim Royals' players to Australia in future to provide them the opportunity to play cricket in Australia.

Shah has brought Brad Hogg, the Australian player who secured the T-20 World Cup for Australia, as the mentor for Sudurpaschim Royals. (RSS)