Kathmandu, November 17: The second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) officially kicks off today, featuring eight franchise teams. This year’s league is expected to introduce several exciting new elements for Nepali cricket fans.
For the first time in Nepal’s cricket history, matches will be played under floodlights on home soil. A new 10,000-seat parapet has also been constructed for spectators. On Sunday evening, the government officially handed over the upgraded TU Cricket Ground to the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) through the National Sports Council.
The Ministry of Urban Development completed the first phase of the stadium project, which included installing six floodlights and building a 10,000-capacity parapet. According to the schedule published by CAN, 23 out of the 32 matches will be played under lights, giving fans a new viewing experience.
However, night matches may pose additional security challenges as day games at TU already attract massive crowds. The excitement is already visible, tickets for the opening match were sold out within 24 hours of release. CAN expects a heavy turnout throughout the tournament.
CAN will sell 9,450 tickets per match day. For the opening day, ticket prices have been set at Rs. 500 for general entry and Rs. 1,500 for premium seats. For league matches on other days, general tickets will cost Rs. 500 and premium tickets Rs. 1,000.
For the playoffs, the prices will be Rs. 1,000 (general) and Rs. 2,000 (premium). A season pass will cost Rs. 15,000.
The winning team will receive Rs. 1 crore 10 lakh, while the runner-up will be awarded Rs. 51 lakh, the third-place team Rs. 25 lakh, and the fourth-place team Rs. 15 lakh. Last season, Janakpur Bolts lifted the title by defeating Sudurpashchim Royals.
The Eight Franchise Teams
1. Kathmandu Gorkhas
Marquee Player: Karan KC
Squad: Bhim Sharki, Rashid Khan, Pratik Shrestha, Dipesh Kandel, Mohammad Aadil Alam, Shahab Alam, Tul Bahadur Thapa, Uttam Thapa Magar, Santosh Yadav, Aakash Tripathi, Sonu Devkota
Foreign Players: Ricardo Vasconcelos, Gerhard Erasmus, John Andrew Simpson, Sunny Patel, Ben Charlesworth, Milind Kumar
Head Coach: Monty Desai
2. Janakpur Bolts
Marquee Player: Aasif Sheikh
Squad: Anil Kumar Sah, Lalit Rajbanshi, Tul Bahadur Thapa Magar, Bikash Aagri, Shubh Kansakar, Sachin Bhatt, Rupesh Kumar Singh, Kishor Mahato, Mayan Yadav, Aditya Mahata, Pappu Yadav
Foreign Players: Lahiru Milantha, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Lahiru Samarakoon, Wayne Parnell, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Sangeeth Kore, Imran Tahir
Head Coach: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
3. Chitwan Rhinos
Marquee Player: Kushal Malla
Squad: Rijan Dhakal, Bipin Rawal, Dipak Bohora, Amar Singh Routela, Ranjit Kumar, Gautam KC, Kamal Singh Airee, Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Bipin Acharya, Saugat Dhakal
Foreign Players: Ravi Bopara, Sohail Tanvir, Saif Zaib, David Malan, Alpesh Ramjani
Head Coach: Kalam Ali
4. Biratnagar Kings
Marquee Player: Sandeep Lamichhane
Squad: Pratis GC, Lokesh Bam, Basir Ahmed, Naren Bhatt, Subash Bhandari, Narayan Joshi, Surya Tamang, Sahil Patel, Shankar Rana, Shrawan Kisku, Ayush Neupane
Foreign Players: George Munsey, Martin Guptill, Shubham Subh’s Ranjane, Marchant de Lange, Faf du Plessis, Samuel Dale Hazlett
5. Sudurpashchim Royals
Marquee Player (Captain): Dipendra Singh Airee
Squad: Vinod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Dipak Bohora, Milan Bohora, Hemanta Dhami, Isham Pandey, Tek Rawat, Naren Saud, Dipendra Thapa, Arif Sheikh, Hikmat Mahara
Foreign Players: Scott Kuggeleijn, Chris Lynn, Harmit Singh, Josh Brown
Head Coach: Jagat Tamata
6. Pokhara Avengers
Marquee Player: Kushal Bhurtel
Squad: Aakash Chand, Sandeep Kshetri, Trit Raj Das, Sagar Dhakal, Bipin Khatri, Dinesh Kharel, Arjun Kumal, Krishna Paudel, Abhishek Tiwari, Kiran Thagunna, Rohit Chand
Foreign Players: Adam Rossington, Raymon Reifer, Dan Douthwaite, Jimmy Neesham, Jason Roy
Head Coach: Rajiv Kumar
7. Karnali Yaks
Marquee Player: Sompal Kami
Squad: Nandan Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Arjun Gharti, Pawan Sarraf, Bipin Sharma, Dipak Dumre, Yuvraj Khatri, Dipendra Rawat, Imran Sheikh
Foreign Players: Max O’Dowd, Mark Watt, Will Bosisto, Priyank Panchal, Najibullah Zadran, Jaykishan Kolsawala
Head Coach: Gyanendra Mallla
8. Lumbini Lions
Marquee Player: Rohit Paudel
Squad: Sandeep Jora, Sher Malla, Dilip Nath, Sumit Maharjan, Dinesh Adhikari, Tilak Bhandari, Durgesh Gupta, Abhishek Gautam, Aadil Khan, Bishal Patel, Samir Ali
Foreign Players: Thomas Drakes, D’Arcy Short, Gulbadin Naib, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit
Head Coach: Tinu Yohannan
Opening Match: Janakpur Bolts vs Kathmandu Gorkhas
The opening match will see defending champions Janakpur Bolts take on Kathmandu Gorkhas today at TU Cricket Ground from 4 PM.
Janakpur will begin their campaign aiming to defend their championship title, while Kathmandu hopes to start strong and chase their first-ever NPL trophy. In last season’s meeting, Janakpur defeated Kathmandu by five wickets.
