37 players contracted by eight teams for second edition of NPL

Kathmandu, Aug 10: A total of 37 players have been picked by eight franchises through a competitive player auction held for the second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL)-2025.

The selections were made from among 164 shortlisted cricketers. During the first round of the auction, 26 players were selected by the teams, while the remaining 11 were picked later from the teams’ wishlists. Four players from the Grade ‘A’ category: Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Adil Alam, and Pawan Sarraf attracted the highest bids, each fetching a maximum of Rs 1.5 million.

Due to multiple franchises bidding for them, their final selection was determined through a lucky draw. Khanal and Saud will be representing the Chitwan Rhinos, Alam will play, representing the Kathmandu Gurkhas, while Sarraf has been signed by the Karnali Yaks. Likewise, Dilip Nath and Sher Malla have been auctioned by the Lumbini Lions; Hemant Dhami by the Sudurpaschim Royals; Surya Tamang by the Biratnagar Kings; Santosh Yadav by the Kathmandu Gurkhas; and Yuvraj Khatri by the Karnali Yaks.

They each fetched Rs one million. Likewise, Mayan Yadav has been auctioned by the Janakpur Bolts at Rs 775,000 while Akash Tripathi has been contracted by the Kathmandu Gurkhas at Rs 700,000. Narayan Joshi and Sahil Patil have been picked by the Biratnagar Kings, Arjun Kumal by the Pokhara Avengers, Bishal Patel by the Lumbini Lions and Aditya Mehata by the Janakpur Bolts.

They each fetched Rs 500,000. Likewise, Tek Bahadur Rawat and Dipendra Thapa have been contracted by the Sudurpashim Royals, Abhishek Tiwari and Krishna Poudel by the Pokhara Avengers, Sachin Bhattarai by the Janakpur Bolts, Tul Bahadur Thapa by the Kathmandu Gurkhas, and Imran Sheikh and Deepak Dumre by the Karnali Yaks with an offer of Rs 200,000 each to them.

Originally, 458 players had registered their names for consideration in the auction, according to the Cricket Association of Nepal.