When Mongolian outside hitter Uranbayar Munkhbayar won the man of the match award in the final of the Nepal Volleyball League on Saturday, it came as a surprise to nobody. The 21-year-old, towering at nearly 6.5ft, was the standout performer of the inaugural franchise league, which promised to herald a new era of Nepali volleyball. Munkhbayar was key in Annapurna Super Kings’ triumph over Karnali Shivraj in the final. Munkhbayar won three MOTM awards in the tournament.

Munkhbayar was not the sole foreigner to outshine Nepalis in the tournament. Of the 17 matches between six teams, overseas players won the MOTM awards in 13. In the other four matches, Pahal Gahatraj, marquee and skipper of Karnali, grabbed the award thrice, while Sunil Bohara of Khaptad Falcons clinched it once.

In Nepal’s franchise leagues, foreign players often outshine the locals. The Nepal Volleyball League, the first men’s franchise volleyball league in the country, was no different. There is a stark gap in skill set and experience between the foreign athletes and the local ones, and this was as apparent in NVL as any other franchise league in the country, said coaches and Nepali players with whom Kantipur spoke on various occasions throughout the tournament. But the NVL has provided an opportunity for domestic players to level up, coaches said.

Alongside Munkhbayar and Gahatraj, there was one more player who won the MOTM award thrice—Ahmed Mustafa Khan, Kathmandu Reds’ outside hitter from Pakistan. Similarly, Alireza Abalooch of Iran, who was playing for Karnali, was adjudged the best player in two matches. Sagarmatha Smashers’ Aimal Khan, also from Pakistan, and Annapurna’s Enkh-Erdene Jargaltsot, also from Mongolia, were aadjudged the MOTM in two games each.

Jibin Sebastian of India, who played for Madhesh, was the only foreigner to win the MOTM award only once.

“The foreign players have more experience and skills,” said Nirpa Bahadur BK, coach of Kathmandu Reds. “This is apparent during training and matches.”

But BK argued that it won’t be the case for long that those from abroad come and outshine Nepali players.

“We can, meanwhile, see the improvement in Nepali players after sharing the court with foreign players,” BK said. “The lack of sufficient exposure to foreign players has been one of the reasons why Nepali players are not developing effectively. But the NVL has provided that opportunity now.”

The NVL held an auction on July 26, from which the six franchises bought 42 domestic players in the range of Rs50,000 to Rs120,000. It was after the teams got one marquee player each. The teams also selected one player each through local talent hunt. And those 48 players were joined by 18 overseas players—with each team bringing in three each.

“We are feeling like professionals,” Himal Sunari, marquee of Annapurna, told Kantipur recently. “Players have been bought through auction by paying a comparably generous amount and other styles and formats of the league are making us feel like we are playing at a professional tournament.”

Sunari continued, “And the foreign players have been a cherry on top, making the tournament grander, more competitive.”

Of the 18 foreign players, five were from Pakistan, three each from Mongolia and India, and one each from Poland, Belarus, Benin, Iran, Russia and Brazil. And they say they enjoyed the volleyball environment in Nepal.

“It was my first time in Nepal,” Abalooch, the Iranian opposite hitter who played for Karnali, said. “There are many kind people here, and a lot of crazy fans.”

Abalooch, who bagged the Man of the Match award twice in the tournament, added that the franchises brought in the best foreign players available. “This helps increase the level of the tournament, and allows the local players to improve more rapidly.”

Further, it was not only the Man of the Match awards where foreign players dominated. They also outshone Nepalis in other individual awards.

Uranbayar was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while his Mongolia and Annapurna colleague Turmandakh Gankhuyag bagged the Best Setter award. Jargaltsgot, also of Annapurna, was the best opposite hitter, and Mustafa of Kathmandu was the best outside hitter.

Karnali’s Binod Bahadur Chand and Madhesh’s Rabin Nagarkoti were the only Nepali to bag individual awards, adjudged as the best libero and middle blocker, respectively.

The overseas players argue that these kinds of leagues are beneficial for the overall development of the game in the country.

“Nepali players are developing rapidly,” Adnan Khan, who has played for Pakistan’s U23 national team and was associated with Kathmandu Reds, told Kantipur. Khan has played in Nepali volleyball tournaments for different teams for around four years now.

“Nepali players have also played in tournaments in Pakistan. So, we can tell how they are improving day by day,” Adnan added. “It is great to see fellow players getting such a good platform.”

Organisers and team owners say that the level of the NVL will only get higher in the upcoming editions—bringing in better foreign players and allowing Nepali players to improve alongside.

“This league will continue,” said Bimal Kumar Kedia, chairman of Kedia Group, the league’s chief organiser. “We have tried to make the inaugural edition as systematic and professional as possible, and it will only get better in the upcoming editions.”

For now, foreign players remain the league’s standout performers. But if the NVL delivers on its promise, their greatest contribution may not be the awards they take home, but the Nepali players who eventually learn to win them.