KATHMANDU, AUGUST 10
A total of 37 players have been signed by eight franchises through a competitive player auction for the second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) 2025. The selections were made from a pool of 164 shortlisted cricketers.
In the first round of the auction, 26 players were picked, while the remaining 11 were selected later from the teams' wishlists.
Four Grade 'A' players - Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Adil Alam, and Pawan Sarraf - attracted the highest bids, each securing the maximum contract value of Rs 1.5 million. As multiple franchises bid for these players, their final team allocations were determined by a lucky draw. Khanal and Saud will represent the Chitwan Rhinos, Alam has been signed by the Kathmandu Gurkhas, and Sarraf will play for the Karnali Yaks.
Other notable signings include Dilip Nath and Sher Malla (Lumbini Lions), Hemant Dhami (Sudurpaschim Royals), Surya Tamang (Biratnagar Kings), Santosh Yadav (Kathmandu Gurkhas), and Yuvraj Khatri (Karnali Yaks), each fetching Rs 1 million.
Mayan Yadav was signed by the Janakpur Bolts for Rs 775,000, while Akash Tripathi joined the Kathmandu Gurkhas for Rs 700,000. Narayan Joshi and Sahil Patil (Biratnagar Kings), Arjun Kumal (Pokhara Avengers), Bishal Patel (Lumbini Lions), and Aditya Mehta (Janakpur Bolts) each secured contracts worth Rs 500,000.
At Rs 200,000 each, the Sudurpaschim Royals signed Tek Bahadur Rawat and Dipendra Thapa, the Pokhara Avengers acquired Abhishek Tiwari and Krishna Poudel, the Janakpur Bolts picked Sachin Bhattarai, the Kathmandu Gurkhas signed Tul Bahadur Thapa, and the Karnali Yaks added Imran Sheikh and Deepak Dumre to their squad.
According to the Cricket Association of Nepal, a total of 458 players had initially registered for the auction.
