On Monday, for the first time, a run scored in the Nepal Premier League will count towards a player’s official career record. The league’s third season opens up at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur with the International Cricket Council’s recognition, a decision review system, and an overseas roster of some of the household names in the global T20 scene, including David Warner, Andre Russell, David Miller and Shakib Al Hasan. Two years ago, some of the franchises weren’t sure the league would start on time. 

“The first season was marked by uncertainty, as we were still figuring out how to make the tournament work,” Ishwar GC, chairman of Lumbini Lions, said at a recent event. “The second came amid the Gen Z protests, so holding it was a significant achievement in itself.” 

The third season comes with ICC’s recognition. This distinction matters most. Performances in the first two seasons were not counted in official records. Now every NPL match carries official T20 status. “This is a major achievement for Nepali cricket,” Paras Khadka, secretary of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), told the Post. It also loosens the rules on foreign players: each franchise may register up to eight overseas players, up from the four to six of the first two seasons, with four allowed in the playing XI alongside seven Nepalis. ICC recognition could also help attract cricketers who are still representing their countries at the highest level, not just those winding down, allowing Nepali players to share dressing rooms with their counterparts from top-ranked nations. 

That is what Nepali players want too. Sandeep Lamichhane, the national ODI captain, and Rohit Paudel, the former captain, have argued that Nepali cricketers improve by playing against, or alongside, better players. 

“When these big names come to Nepal, and we are allowed to share dressing rooms with them, it helps us improve more and more because there is so much to learn,” Lamichhane told the Post in a recent interview. “It is a win-win situation for the Nepali players and overall Nepali cricket.”

The ICC recognition comes with obligations. Overseas players, including those retired from international cricket, need a no-objection certificate from their home boards. Anyone who played in an unsanctioned tournament in the previous six months is ineligible. ICC anti-corruption rules apply throughout, and CAN must file a review report within sixty days of the final. 

The second change is the Decision Review System. A third umpire has been available since the league began. DRS now lets players challenge on-field decisions themselves, adding another layer of scrutiny which is expected to reduce the likelihood of incorrect decisions. CAN has said it will use three-dimensional ball-tracking for LBW reviews and artificial-intelligence-powered edge detection. The reviews will also cover run-outs, stumpings and no-balls.

Khadka has put the cost at up to Rs20 million per match, to be shared between the NPL and its eight participating franchises. “Everyone has been saying for a long time that we need DRS. Now that requirement is being met,” Khadka said. “It will take the tournament to another level.”

Umpire Devendra Subedi said Nepali umpires were right more than 90 percent of the time without it; DRS should push that toward 100, though no system eliminates error. It will also add expense and, potentially, time to matches.

From Warner and Russell to Miller, NPL attracts global stars

With the ICC granting the tournament official T20 status, the NPL is attracting an increasingly prominent overseas line-up. David Warner, Andre Russell and David Miller are among the international stars who have made their mark in T20 cricket and will feature this season. 

Warner, the Australian opener signed by Kathmandu Gorkhas, is among the biggest names to feature in the league. He was a key member of Australia’s teams that won the 2015 and 2023 ODI World Cups and the 2021 T20 World Cup. He was also named Player of the Tournament at the 2021 T20 World Cup. 

South African batter Miller, 37, brings extensive experience of franchise cricket. He has played 584 T20 matches and scored more than 12,000 runs, with an average strike rate above 138. For South Africa, he has appeared in 180 one-day internationals and 140 T20 internationals. 

Karnali Yaks have recruited Miller alongside Pakistan’s T20 captain Sahibzada Farhan and all-rounder Hussain Talat for this edition. Farhan has played 186 T20 matches, scoring 5,775 runs at an average strike rate of over 140.

“By signing players such as Miller, Farhan and Talat, I believe we can contribute not only to Karnali Yaks but also to promoting Nepal’s tourism through the NPL,” said Grihendra Ghimire, the franchise’s chairman. “Our supporters had high expectations of the Yaks, and we have made these high-profile signings to meet them.” 

West Indies all-rounder Russell will feature for Biratnagar Kings. He was part of the West Indies teams that won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016. Adored by cricket crowds around the globe as ‘Muscle Russell’, he has scored 9,933 runs in 611 T20s at an average strike rate of over 166. The Kings have also signed Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka and former captain Angelo Mathews, along with US all-rounder Shubham Ranjane and Sri Lankan-American batter Shehan Jayasuriya. 

Pokhara Avengers have signed Bangladesh’s former globally top-ranked all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin, as well as Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya Lakshan and Chamika Karunaratne. In the 483 T20 matches Hasan has played so far, he has scored 7,884 runs and claimed 521 wickets.

Inaugural champions Janakpur Bolts have signed England’s two-time World Cup winner Moeen Ali, New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham, Pakistan all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed and US all-rounder Harmeet Singh, along with Pakistan fast bowler Hunain Shah. Neesham scored 247 runs across 9 matches for the Bolts in the inaugural season, at a tournament-high strike rate of around 196.

Sudurpaschim Royals, runners-up in the first two seasons, have signed West Indies batsman Sherfane Rutherford, who has played in several major franchise competitions. He was part of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots side that won the Caribbean Premier League in 2021 and Karachi Kings’ Pakistan Super League title-winning team in 2020-21. He has featured in 283 T20 matches, amassing 5,090 runs at an average strike rate of around 142.

The Royals have also already signed New Zealand’s Scott Kuggeleijn, England’s Saif Zaib and Scotland all-rounder Brandon McMullen for the third season. 

Defending champions Lumbini Lions have retained Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella, Australia’s D’Arcy Short and Namibia’s Ruben Trumpelmann from last season. They have added Bangladesh all-rounder Shamim Hossain and US all-rounder Shadley van Schalkwyk. 

Chitwan Rhinos have Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza and England veteran Ravi Bopara, alongside Kaleem Sana and other squad members. 

Right direction, long road

Cricket is one of Nepal’s oldest organised sports, with a history stretching back more than a century to the Rana era. Until a few decades ago, it was largely confined to open grounds such as Tundikhel and a handful of other venues. Today, Nepal has a tournament attracting international attention, with its reach continuing to grow. 

The NPL’s first season, in late 2024, ended with the Bolts beating Sudurpaschim Royals in the final. The spectators sat on open, terraced dirt and grass embankments surrounding the fields. Some even climbed tall trees surrounding the ground premises. By the second season, the ground had a 10,000-seat stand and floodlights, which were still going up five days before the opening match, with generators on standby. Lumbini Lions beat Sudurpaschim in the final, and the Royals were runners-up again.

“We came in saying that we would invest in Nepali cricket and work hard for five years,” said GC, chairman of the Lions. From the very get-go, the spectators embraced the league as their own. The NPL’s popularity has offered a rare success story for the cricketing world against a backdrop of dwindling fan turnouts in Test-playing nations.

The league now sits inside a busier calendar. India A will play three T20s at the same ground on December 9, 11 and 13, and Kathmandu will host 15 matches of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted with Bangladesh, in January and February. The ICC has additionally entrusted Nepal with hosting a Cricket World Cup qualifying play-off tournament. 

Khadka said money will decide how far the progress in Nepali cricket goes. “No matter how good our plans, policies or management are, cricket cannot develop rapidly without the resources to support it,” he said. 

He accepts that there is still a long way to go, but Nepal is moving in the right direction.

“The goal is to make NPL world-class.”