The Nepal Premier League (NPL) returns to Kathmandu as the third season kicks off at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Monday. The NPL 2026 will run till November 21. Lumbini Lions are the defending champions of NPL, while Janakpur Bolts won the inaugural title in 2024.
In a major boost to the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) formally sanctioned the NPL, thus paving the way for some of the biggest stars in world cricket fly down to the Himalayan country. David Warner, , Andre Russell, and Moeen Ali are some of the top T20 stars to feature in NPL 2026.
Eight teams will contest the third edition of NPL 2026. The champions will be awarded a cash prize of NPR 15 million. As per the schedule, most days carry double headers, with the first game to be played at 12:30 PM local time (12:15 PM IST). The second game starts at 4:30 PM local time (4:15 PM IST). India is 15 minutes behind Nepal.
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has roped in Star Sports Network as their official global broadcast partner for the NPL 2026. For all Indian audiences, NPL 2026 matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Select and Star Sports Select 2 SD and HD channels. Live streaming of NPL 2026 matches will be available on FanCode app and website in India.
All the eight teams will play each other once in round-robin format. The top four teams will advance to the playoffs, starting from November 17. In the playoffs, the top two teams will play in Qualifier 1, with the winner booking a spot in the final. The third and fourth-placed teams will play in the Eliminator. The winner of the Eliminator and the losing team in Qualifier 1 will play in Qualifier 2 to determine the second finalist.
Biratnagar Kings: Sandeep Lamichhane (C), Lokesh Bam, Dilsad Ali, Sujan Thapaliya, Andre Russell, Charith Asalanka, Shubham Ranjane, Basir Ahamad, Narayan Joshi, Pratish GC, Rupesh Kumar Singh, Naren Saud, Pratik Shrestha, Imran Sheikh, Subash Bhandari, Aparajit Poudel, Angelo Mathews
Chitwan Rhinos: Kushal Malla (C), Kamil Mishara, Deepak Bohara, Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Bipin Rawal, Muhammad Nawaz, Ravi Bopara, Sikandar Raza, Bibek Kumar Yadav, Salahuddin Khan, Hasan Ali, Kaleem Sana, Usama Mir, Rijan Dhakal, Ranjeet Kumar, Kamal Singh Airee, Mausam Dhakal, Ashok Dhami, Gautam KC
Janakpur Bolts: Anil Sah (C), Bikash Aagri, Aaditya Mahata, Bishal Patel, Rit Gautam, Santosh Karki, Harmeet Singh, Iftikhar Ahmed, James Neesham, Moeen Ali, Mayan Yadav, Trit Raj Das, Abhishek Tiwari, Amar Singh Rautela, Hunain Shah, Lalit Rajbanshi, Ashutosh Pandey, Bishal Shusling
Karnali Yaks: Sompal Kami (C), Ariful Islam, David Miller, Hikmat Bahadur Shahi, Sahibzada Farhan, Deepak Dumre, Sachin Sharma, Diwan Pun, Hussain Talat, Mark Watt, Gulshan Jha, Pawan Sarraf, Unish Bikram Singh, Shubh Kansakar, Bipin Sharma, Nandan Yadav, Yuvraj Khatri, Dipendra Rawat, Surya Tamang, Akbar Ali
Karthmandu Gorkhas: Karan KC (C), David Warner, Rashid Khan, K. S. Bharat, Sam Heazlett, Smit Patel, Bhim Sarki, Sahil Patel, Suryanshu Koirala, Sahan Arachchige, Mohammad Aadil Alam, Santosh Yadav, Prasiddha Jaisi, Dev Shah, Krishna Poudel, Shahab Alam, Dayanand Mandal, Sonu Devkota
Lumbini Lions: Rohit Paudel (C), Niroshan Dickwella, Sundeep Jora, Dilip Nath, Aasif Sheikh, Aakash Tripathi, D’Arcy Short, Shamim Hossain, Sher Malla, Arniko Yadav, Ruben Trumpelmann, Dinesh Adhikari, Abhishesh Gautam, Tilak Bhandari, Kishore Mahato, Durgesh Gupta, Ajay Chauhan, Shadley van Schalkwyk
Pokhara Avengers: Kushal Bhurtel (C), Dinesh Kharel, Chamika Karunaratne, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunny BK, Arjun Kumal, Bipin Khatri, Kiran Thagunna, Arjun Gharti, Bipin Acharya, Sagar Dhakal, Aakash Chand, Sudip Aryal, Bibek Rana Magar, Pratik Pokharel
Sudurpaschim Royals: Dipendra Singh Airee (C), Binod Bhandari, Dipak Bohara, Brandon McMullen, Fabian Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Sherfane Rutherford, Aarif Sheikh, Ishan Pandey, Tek Rawat, Ayub Chand, Tek Raj Thalal, Abinash Bohara, Hemant Dhami, Hikmat Mahara, Milan Bohara, Sachin Bhatt, Saif ZaibComplete squads of all 8 NPL 2026 teams
