Nepal T20 captain Dipendra Singh Airee, leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and opening batter Kushal Bhurtel have been drafted into Sri Lanka’s Lanka Premier League (LPL). However, all three are set to miss the tournament’s opening matches because of national team commitments.

In the LPL draft held on Sunday, Jaffna Kings signed Airee and Lamichhane, while Colombo Kaps picked Bhurtel.

Lamichhane will earn USD20,000 from his LPL contract, while Airee and Bhurtel will each receive USD15,000.

Sri Lankan batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa captains Jaffna Kings, while Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis leads Colombo Kaps.

Former Nepal head coach Pubudu Dassanayake is associated with Galle Gallants for the upcoming season.

The Lanka Premier League, launched in 2020, will stage its sixth edition this year. Jaffna Kings are the competition’s most successful franchise, having won four titles in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024. The team competed under the name Jaffna Stallions during the inaugural 2020 season. The tournament was not held in 2025.

This year’s LPL is scheduled to run from July 17 to August 8.

However, Nepal’s international commitments are expected to delay the arrival of the three players. The national team will travel to the Netherlands in July for ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 fixtures.

Nepal are scheduled to face Namibia on July 21 and July 27, and the Netherlands on July 23 and July 29. As a result, Airee, Lamichhane and Bhurtel are likely to miss the early stages of the LPL before joining their respective franchises.