The Cricket Association of Nepal has shortlisted 150 national players for the auction of the second edition of the Nepal Premier League, scheduled for August 9.

According to a statement signed by CAN spokesperson Chhumbi Lama, 458 players registered for the auction process, which was open between July 12 and July 22. The association’s technical committee finalised the list of 150 players based on set criteria.

“The shortlisted players have been selected according to the standards laid out by our technical team,” the statement said.

Among the 150 players in the list, eight—Arjun Saud, Dilip Nath, Dev Khanal, Pawan Sarraf, Sharad Veswakar, Mohammad Adil Alam, Surya Tamang and Sunam Gautam—have been kept in Category A. There are 35 players in Category B and 107 in Category C.

The maximum price for the auction of the players in A, B and C categories is Rs1.5 million, Rs1 million and Rs500,000, respectively.

Each team will have a squad of 16 players, of which a maximum of four can be foreign players, while one should be a local player selected from ‘Talent Hunt’.

The teams were allowed to retain a maximum of seven players, including the marquee, from the first season. While none of the eight teams made changes to their marquee, three—Karnali Yaks, defending champion Janakpur Bolts and Pokhara Avengers—have retained seven.

The other five teams—Kathmandu Gorkhas, Biratnagar Kings, Chitwan Rhinos, Sudurpaschim Royals and Lumbini Lions—have retained six players in total.

With Karnali being the only team to retain the player—teenager Bipin Prasad Sharma—selected through a talent hunt, the eight teams now have 38 slots remaining to fill with local players in total.

Meanwhile, foreign player recruitment will not go through the auction. Franchises will have full authority to sign overseas players independently.

Retained Players

Janakpur Bolts: Aasif Sheikh (Marquee), Anil Kumar Sah, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Rupesh Singh, Kishore Mahato, Shubh Kansakar, and Tul Bahadur Thapa

Kathmandu Gorkhas: Karan KC (Marquee), Rashid Khan, Dipesh Kandel, Bhim Sharki, Pratik Shrestha, and Shahab Alam

Karnali Yaks: Sompal Kami (Marquee), Gulshan Kumar Jha, Nandan Yadav, Arjun Gharti, Dipendra Rawat, Unish Bikram Singh Thakuri, and Bipin Prasad Sharma

Chitwan Rhinos: Kushal Malla (Marquee), Rijan Dhakal, Deepak Bohora, Amar Singh Rautela, Gautam KC, and Kamal Singh Airee

Sudurpaschim Royals: Dipendra Singh Airee (Marquee), Binod Bhandari, Aarif Sheikh, Abinash Bohara, Ishan Pandey, and Naren Saud

Lumbini Lions: Rohit Paudel (Marquee), Sundeep Jora, Bibek Yadav, Dinesh Adhikari, Abhisesh Gautam, and Tilak Bhandari

Biratnagar Kings: Sandeep Lamichhane (Marquee), Pratish GC, Lokesh Bam, Bashir Ahmad, Naren Bhatta, and Subash Bhandari

Pokhara Avengers: Kushal Bhurtel (Marquee), Aakash Chand, Trit Raj Das, Bipin Khatri, Kiran Thagunna, Dinesh Kharel, and Sagar Dhakal