Cricket Association of Nepal has agreed to a proposal to lease the proposed Nepal Premier League to an Indian company–Seven 3 Sports.

According to Chatur Bahadur Chand, president of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the annual general assembly of the country’s cricket governing body on Wednesday gave the green signal to the executive committee’s proposal to lease the proposed Nepal Premier League (NPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament to the Indian company.

The cricket governing body’s general assembly was held virtually on Wednesday.

“The general assembly has entrusted the executive committee with the task of moving forward the proposal on the condition that CAN should have the ownership of NPL,” Chand told the Post. “We are of the view that the event should be beneficial for Nepali cricket.”

CAN had put forth the proposal at its general assembly after they received a proposal from the Indian company seeking to lease the NPL.

“If we ink the deal as per the proposal of Seven 3 Sports (S3S), the Indian company will provide us with Rs400 million for a period of 10 years,” said Chand. “In the first year, CAN will get Rs25 million and there will be an increment in the amount every year.” According to Chand, though the deal is yet to be finalised, a preliminary agreement with the Indian company, in principle, has moved forward.

“We had earlier informally taken the NPL proposal to the executive committee meeting, but there was no consensus, so we introduced it before the general assembly,” he said. “The general assembly has given various suggestions and we will discuss that with S3S before finalising the deal.”

According to the company profile it is involved in sporting and other recreational activities.

Among others, some points in the agreement are related to infrastructure like upgrading at least two cricket stadiums. “Our first priority is to install floodlights in the TU grounds and upgrade facilities either in Pokhara or Bhairahawa grounds,” said Chand. “The agreement is similar to giving license to the Indian company for holding the franchise-based NPL for the next 10 years, though CAN will be the owner.”

Saying that the NPL would be “the highest level domestic cricket”, Chand said the event will be extremely beneficial for Nepali cricket.

“At present the only income we have is the Rs80-million fund that we get from the International Cricket Council and around Rs60 million is spent in salary and allowances,” said Chand. “If the deal with the Indian company works out for the proposed NPL, we will have some extra funds in the hand for game’s development.”

If the NPL takes off as per CAN’s plan, it would be the fourth franchise-based domestic tournaments after Dhangadhi Premier League, Everest Premier League and Pokhara Premier League.