KS Bharat, a former batsman and wicketkeeper for the Indian team, will now play in the Nepali Premier League (NPL). The Kathmandu Gorkha team signed him for their participation in the third season of the tournament. He is the first foreign player signed by this team for the upcoming season.
KS Bharat announced his departure from international cricket in June of this year. After ending his career on the international stage, he is ready to take on a new challenge in Nepal's franchise league. Kathmandu Gorkha expects that his experience will strengthen the team both in attack and in the goalkeeping position.
Announcing the signing of KS Bharat, Kathmandu Gorkha wrote on Instagram: 'KS Bharat, who played in test matches for India, is known for his patience and composure behind the wickets. He will bring experience, reliability, and a secure wicketkeeping presence to the team.'
Bharat was among the players with experience in domestic cricket and scored over 6000 runs in first-class matches. After a long domestic career, he managed to make it into the Indian Test squad. For the Indian national team, he scored 221 runs in 7 Test matches with an average of 20.09. His last Test match was in Visakhapatnam against England in February 2024. After that, he could not return to play due to the emergence of young batsman-keepers and increasing competition in the team.
KS Bharat decided to retire from international cricket at the age of 32. Nevertheless, after stepping away from international cricket, he continued to play professionally and will now begin his new journey in the Nepali Premier League.
KS Bharat also has experience playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He represented the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC). In the IPL, he played only 10 matches and scored 199 runs with an average of 28.42.