The buzz surrounding the second season of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) was palpable at the 2025 mini-auction in Kathmandu. The mini-auction was fraught with furious bidding, anxious tie-breakers, and signings of many of the best domestic cricketers.
While there were eight franchises and 37 slots available to fill squads of 16, each with a maximum of four overseas players, 26 cricketers were contracted through the auction and a further 11 players were selected from franchise wish lists.The day’s spotlight shone on the coveted A-category players, each starting with a base price of NPR 10 lakh and climbing to a maximum of NPR 15 lakh.
After a bidding war with Lumbini Lions, Dev Khanal was the first Category A player to be signed, with Chitwan Rhinos winning a lucky draw to secure him. After an intense bidding war against Biratnagar Kings and Karnali Yaks, wicketkeeper-batter Arjun Saud was signed by Chitwan, who were once again the lucky draw winners. All-rounder Pawan Sarraf returned from injury and was signed by Karnali Yaks after interest from four teams. Adil Alam was the most sought after player and attracted all eight franchises to the bidding. The lucky draw saw Kathmandu Gorkhas secure his signature. Other significant signings included Dilip Nath to Lumbini Lions and Surya Tamang to Biratnagar Kings.
Janakpur Bolts retained captain Anil Sah and star opener Aasif Sheikh, while adding Sachin Bhatta, Aditya Mehta, and Mayan Yadav from the auction. Wish list signing Bikash Agri rounded off their domestic core.
Sudurpaschim Royals, led by Dipendra Singh Airee, picked up Hemant Dhami, Tek Bahadur Rawat, and Dipesh Thapa, while also signing Deepak Bohara and Milan Bohara from the wish list.
Karnali Yaks, captained by Sompal Kami, made headlines with the high-profile signing of Pawan Sarraf alongside Imran Shekh, Deepak Dumre, and Yuvraj Khatri.
Chitwan Rhinos added two big names in Dev Khanal and Arjun Saud, plus Bipin Rawal, Bipin Acharya, and Ranjit Kumar from their wish list.
Kathmandu Gorkhas bagged the marquee signing of Adil Alam and further strengthened with Uttam Thapa Magar, Tul Bahadur Thapa, Santosh Yadav, and Aakash Tripathi.
Biratnagar Kings brought in Surya Tamang, Sahil Patel, and Narayan Joshi, plus wish list picks Sharwan Kisku and Shankar Rana.
Pokhara Avengers signed Abhishek Tiwari, Arjun Kumal, and Krishna Paudel, complemented by wish list signing Sandeep Kumar Kshetri.
Lumbini Lions, captained by Rohit Paudel, roped in Dilip Nath, Vishal Patel, and Sher Malla, while adding Durgesh Gupta and Adil Khan from the wish list.
With domestic rosters set at 11 players each, the focus now shifts to the foreign player market. Each team can sign up to four overseas players before the tournament kicks off. With the aggressive local signings and depth-building efforts already underway, we feel comforted in predicting a n NPL 2025 that will feature as much homegrown talent as international gloss and that will be a challenging league for all teams involved.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
