Teams Spend Rs 21.875 Million in NPL Mini Auction

The Nepal Premier League’s (NPL) mini auction for its second season saw fierce bidding on Saturday, August 9, as teams clashed over top national players, with several high-value signings decided by lucky draws.

The biggest tussle was for all-rounder Mohammad Adil Alam, a Category A player with a base price of Rs 1 million. He was the only player desired by all eight franchises. Each bid reached the Rs 1.5 million ceiling—the highest allowed for the category—before Kathmandu Gurkhas won his services in a lucky draw.

Alam, arrested in January, 2023 by Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau on spot-fixing charges during the Nepal T20 League, was acquitted by the Kathmandu District Court in March 2024, citing insufficient evidence.

Dev Khanal, also a Category A player with a base price of Rs 1 million, sparked similar interest. His bidding hit the Rs 1.5 million ceiling in under a minute before Chitwan Rhinos secured him in a draw against Lumbini Lions.

Four franchises—Lumbini Lions, Pokhara Avengers, Sudurpaschim Royals, and Janakpur Bolts—battled for Category B player Hemant Dhami (base price Rs 500,000), with all offers hitting Rs 1 million ceiling. The Royals won via lucky draw.

More lottery drama followed for Arjun Saud (Category A) and Pawan Sarraf (Category A). Saud went to the Rhinos after a draw in bidding against Karnali Yaks and Biratnagar Kings, while Sarraf’s four-way contest was claimed by the Yaks.

A total of 37 players from 164 shortlisted were signed by eight franchises. Twenty-six were picked in the first round of the auction, while 11 came from post-auction wish lists.

Each team had a Rs 9 million purse to sign players, excluding the marquee. The franchises spent a combined Rs 21.875 million to secure six Category A, 15 Category B, and 16 Category C players.

After deducting the cost of retained players, Pokhara Avengers entered Saturday’s auction with Rs 3.65 million, Kathmandu Gurkhas with Rs 4.3 million, Chitwan Rhinos with Rs 5.8 million, Biratnagar with Rs 4.55 million, Lumbini Lions with Rs 4.525 million, Janakpur Bolts with Rs 3.3 million, Karnali Yaks with Rs 4.3 million, and Sudurpaschim Royals with Rs 4.105 million.

Pokhara spent only Rs 1.1 million at the auction, while Kathmandu spent Rs 3.7 million. Chitwan was the biggest spender with Rs 3.9 million. Biratnagar spent Rs 2.7 million, Lumbini Rs 3.2 million, and Janakpur Rs 1.975 million. Karnali and Sudurpaschim acquired their players for Rs 2.9 million and Rs 2.4 million, respectively.

Dilip Nath and Sher Malla joined Lumbini Lions; Hemant Dhami went to Sudurpaschim Royals; Surya Tamang to Biratnagar Kings; Santosh Yadav to Kathmandu Gurkhas; and Yuvraj Khatri to Karnali Yaks—each fetching Rs 1 million.

Mayan Yadav went to Janakpur Bolts for Rs 775,000, and Akash Tripathi to Kathmandu Gurkhas for Rs 700,000. Narayan Joshi and Sahil Patil (Biratnagar Kings), Arjun Kumal (Pokhara Avengers), Bishal Patel (Lumbini Lions), and Aditya Mehata (Janakpur Bolts) each fetched Rs 500,000.

At Rs 200,000 apiece, Sudurpaschim Royals signed Tek Bahadur Rawat and Dipendra Thapa; Pokhara Avengers took Abhishek Tiwari and Krishna Poudel; Janakpur Bolts picked Sachin Bhattarai; Kathmandu Gurkhas added Tul Bahadur Thapa; and Karnali Yaks brought in Imran Sheikh and Deepak Dumre.

Originally, 458 players had applied to be shortlisted for the auction, according to the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). The first season of the country’s biggest franchise cricket tournament was held from November 30 to December 21, 2024 at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, with Janakpur Bolts winning the inaugural title and Rs 11 million cash prize.

Category-based roster restrictions from last season were removed.

“The difference between last season and this season is we do not have restriction on category,” said auctioneer Durga Nath Subedi. “You can pick any category without restriction in this auction.”

Teams could retain up to seven players. Five franchises—Biratnagar Kings, Sudurpaschim Royals, Lumbini Lions, Chitwan Rhinos, and Kathmandu Gurkhas—retained six each, while Pokhara Avengers, Karnali Yaks, and defending champions Janakpur Bolts kept seven apiece. The retained list included eight marquee players, 20 in Category A, nine in Category B, and 14 in Category C.