All eyes were on Mohammad Aadil Alam during the auction for the second Nepal Premier League in August last year. Although he was returning to cricket after a gap of two years, he took the spotlight.

All the franchises in the NPL made their bid for Alam’s maximum price of Rs1.5 million. As a result, Alam, an all-rounder, went on a lucky draw, which went in favour of Kathmandu Gorkhas.

Alam then also made his return to the national team and Nepal’s premier one-day tournament: Men’s PM Cup.

On January 23, 2023, Alam was one of the three cricketers arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau on charges of spot fixing at the Nepal T20 League, which was held from December 24, 2022, to January 11, 2023.

By the time of the arrest, Alam, also known as Aadil Ansari, had already donned the senior men’s team jersey. He represented Nepal in six ODIs and eight T20Is.

His cricketing journey came to a halt after the arrest, as he was suspended by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).

Alam kept on defending himself after the arrest. In March 2024, the Kathmandu District Court acquitted him of the charges.

Alam was expected to be a good cricketing talent. He was adored by Nepali fans. As a result, after getting free from the charges, fans, who had been following Alam and his regular cricket practices through social media, demanded his return.

It was on May 4 last year that CAN lifted the suspension, and Alam was free to play cricket at the domestic as well as international level once again. And he marked his return in style by becoming the limelight in the second NPL auction.

However, despite returning to professional cricket, Alam, now 22, has not been able to meet the expectations, be it the NPL, national team or the ongoing Men’s PM Cup.

Struggling in Men’s PM Cup

Alam made his debut in the premier one-day cricket tournament of the country in 2021 for Madhesh Province. He got to play in two matches then and scored 16 runs with the bat.

In 2022, which was the fifth edition, Alam managed 78 runs and four wickets in five matches.

After that, he was busy with the legal battle.

And when he returned to the Men’s PM Cup for the eighth edition this year, he was still struggling to find a proper footing.

Alam started the tournament with average play. He scored 34 runs and bagged a wicket against Sudurpashchim on March 25, and had 23 runs and a wicket against Lumbini on March 27.

However, in the next two matches, Alam, who was returning from his marriage with his hands still carrying mehendi’s design, could not even manage average play. He got out for a duck and went wicketless against Karnali on March 30, and scored four runs and bagged two wickets against Tribhuvan Army Club on April 2.

While hopes remained that Alam would soon return to his form, he got out for a duck again on Wednesday.

Alam’s team, Madhesh, defeated Gandaki by 18 runs through DLS in Birgunj on Wednesday.

Struggling to open his account in the first five deliveries, Alam was caught and bowled for 0 off 6 by Aprajit Poudel for a duck in 19.4 overs with the team at 99/6.

Nonetheless, as the rain interrupted the game in Janakpur, the umpires called for covers after the end of the 21st over. And when the play resumed, the match was reduced to 35 overs each. Madhesh were all out at 172 in 34.5 overs.

Another rain obstruction and Gandaki’s target was revised to 99 runs in 22 overs. And Gandaki could only manage 80/5 and lost by 18 runs. Alam, who was given two overs, took a wicket and gave away nine runs.

“Regarding Alam, he is a finisher. He is built for those last five overs,” Kathmandu Gorkhas’ head coach Monty Desai said after his team was knocked out in the Eliminator of the NPL last year. “When Alam connects the ball, it goes out of the park.”

Desai, who is also a former head coach of Nepal, suggested that Alam was not a longer-format player. And it is being witnessed in the Men’s PM Cup.

After the win, Madhesh climbed to the third position on the points table with nine points in six games. They follow Sudurpashchim (10 points from seven games) and Army (11 points from six games).

Alam’s highest score in the ongoing Men’s PM Cup is 34 while managing 61 runs in five games, which include two ducks.

On the other hand, Bagmati defeated Koshi by seven wickets in the other match on Wednesday, which was played in Birgunj. Bundled out at 99 runs after a fifer from Bagmati skipper Sandeep Lamichhane, Koshi’s target was chased in nine overs, thanks to Bibek Magar’s 61 off 28.

Alam in NPL and national team

In seven of the eight matches he batted during the second NPL last year, he scored 93 runs. Further, he was only given one over to bowl, which was against Pokhara Avengers on December 4, 2025.

After the NPL, Alam made his return to the national team. But he could not perform to the expectation once again.

Alam scored 14 runs in two matches against the West Indies during the three-match T20I series in Sharjah, UAE, in September last year. He then scored 18 runs in two matches against Qatar (16 runs) and Oman (2 runs) during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia & EAP Qualifier in October 2025.

As he was not playing well, Alam was not included in the Nepali squad for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

And his bad form has continued in the Men’s PM Cup, where Alam made a return after over three years.