{"id":57411,"date":"2026-10-26T08:03:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T02:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/?p=57411"},"modified":"2026-10-26T08:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T02:18:20","slug":"npl-season-3-kicks-off-today-as-defending-champions-lumbini-face-sudurpaschim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/npl-season-3-kicks-off-today-as-defending-champions-lumbini-face-sudurpaschim\/","title":{"rendered":"NPL Season 3 Kicks Off Today as Defending Champions Lumbini face Sudurpaschim"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathmandu, Oct 26:<\/strong> The third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) gets underway on Monday, with defending champions Lumbini Lions taking on runners-up Sudurpaschim Royals in the opening match.<\/p>\n

Organised by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the tournament will run until November 21, featuring eight franchises competing for the title. All matches will be played at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.<\/p>\n

The participating teams are Biratnagar Kings, Chitwan Rhinos, Janakpur Bolts, Karnali Yaks, Kathmandu Gorkhas, Lumbini Lions, Pokhara Avengers and Sudurpaschim Royals.<\/p>\n

This year’s edition promises to be more exciting, with the introduction of the Decision Review System (DRS) for the first time in the league. The tournament has also received International Cricket Council (ICC) recognition and features several high-profile overseas players.<\/p>\n

The opening match between Lumbini and Sudurpaschim is scheduled to begin at 5 PM.<\/p>\n

Lumbini Aim to Defend Their Title<\/strong>
\nLumbini Lions enter the tournament determined to retain the title they won last season. The defending champions have strengthened their overseas contingent by signing Bangladesh’s Shaman Hossain and South African-born USA international Shadley van Schalkwyk.<\/p>\n

They have also retained Namibia’s Ruben Trumpelmann, Australia’s D’Arcy Short and Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella.<\/p>\n

Lumbini boast a strong domestic core, including Nepal national team captain Rohit Kumar Paudel, wicketkeeper-batter Aasif Sheikh, spinner Sher Malla and Sandeep Jora.<\/p>\n

Aasif, who joined Lumbini through the auction after representing Janakpur Bolts as their marquee player in the previous two editions, is expected to strengthen the team’s batting lineup.<\/p>\n

Captain Paudel will also be central to Lumbini’s campaign, with his ability to contribute with both bat and ball offering valuable balance to the side.<\/p>\n

Spinner Sher Malla is another key player to watch. He has claimed 24 wickets across the first two editions of the NPL, making him an important part of Lumbini’s bowling attack.<\/p>\n

With a balanced combination of domestic and overseas talent, Lumbini will look to make a winning start to their title defence.<\/p>\n

Sudurpaschim Chase Maiden NPL Title<\/strong>
\nSudurpaschim Royals, meanwhile, are determined to go one step further after finishing as runners-up in the first two editions of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Having reached the final on both occasions, the Royals will be eager to turn their consistency into a maiden NPL title this season.<\/p>\n

The franchise has strengthened its overseas lineup by signing West Indies power-hitters Sherfane Rutherford and Fabian Allen. They have also retained New Zealand’s Scott Kuggeleijn, Scotland’s Brandon McMullen and England’s Saif Zaib.<\/p>\n

Nepal international Dipendra Singh Airee will once again lead the side, hoping to build on his impressive performances in the previous editions. He has scored 389 runs and taken 18 wickets across the first two seasons, underlining his value as an all-rounder.<\/p>\n

Wicketkeeper-batter Binod Bhandari will also be a key figure in the Royals’ batting lineup. He scored 264 runs in nine matches last season, including two half-centuries, finishing third on the tournament’s run-scoring chart.<\/p>\n

In the bowling department, Scott Kuggeleijn and Avinash Bohara will be crucial to Sudurpaschim’s campaign. Kuggeleijn has taken 27 wickets across the first two editions, while Bohara has claimed 24.<\/p>\n

Bohara was the leading wicket-taker in the previous edition, finishing the tournament with 17 wickets in a single season.<\/p>\n

The Royals will also look to contributions from Nepal’s domestic players, including Aris Sheikh, Ishan Pandey and Hemant Dhami, as they pursue their first championship.<\/p>\n

A Competitive Opening Clash Awaits<\/strong>
\nWith both teams boasting a strong blend of international stars and Nepal’s leading domestic players, the opening fixture is expected to be a closely contested encounter.<\/p>\n

Lumbini will be looking to begin their title defence with a victory, while Sudurpaschim will aim to make an early statement in their quest for a maiden championship.<\/p>\n

The clash between last season’s champions and runners-up will set the tone for the third edition of the NPL, as eight teams begin their pursuit of the coveted title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu, Oct 26: The third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) gets underway on Monday, with defending champions Lumbini Lions taking on runners-up Sudurpaschim Royals in the opening match. Organised by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the tournament will run until November 21, featuring eight franchises competing for the title. All matches will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-main-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57413,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57411\/revisions\/57413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}