The highly anticipated Nepal Premier League (NPL) players’ auction took place yesterday (October 6) at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu. Out of 162 shortlisted players for the auction, only 80 were sold.
The eight franchises were allocated a purse of 90 lakh NPR each to sign 10 players, comprising 3 from Category A, 4 from Category B, and 3 from Category C.
The bidding for A category players started at a minimum of 10 lakhs, with a maximum cap of 15 lakhs. For B category players, the bidding range was between 5 lakhs and 10 lakhs, while C category players had a starting bid of 2 lakhs, going up to a maximum of 5 lakhs.
Here’s how the teams line up after the completion of the auction:
Biratnagar Kings
Marquee Player – Sandeep Lamichhane
Players signed from the auction:
Pratish GC (A) – 15 lakhs
Lokesh Bam (A) – 15 lakhs
Basir Ahamad (A) – 10 lakhs
Rajesh Pulami (B) – 5 lakhs
Jitendra Mukhiya (B) – 5 lakhs
Anil Kharel (B) – 5 lakhs
Dipak Bohara (B) – 5 lakhs
Subash Bhandari (C) – 2.50 lakhs
Naren Bhat (C) – 2 lakhs
Mrinal Gurung (C) – 2 lakhs
Spent – 66.50 lakhs
Janakpur Bolts
Marquee Player – Aasif Sheikh
Players signed from the auction:
Lalit Rajbanshi (A) – 15 lakhs
Anil Sah (A) – 15 lakhs
Kishore Mahato (A) – 10 lakhs
Rupesh Singh (B) – 10 lakhs
Aakash Tripathi (B) – 10 lakhs
Shubh Kansakar (B) – 5 lakhs
Hemanta Dhami (B) – 5 lakhs
Sher Malla (C) – 5 lakhs
Arniko Yadav (C) – 2.25 lakhs
Tul Bahadur Thapa Magar (C) – 2 lakhs
spent – 79.25 lakhs
Chitwan Rhinos
Marquee Player – Kushal Malla
Players signed from the auction:
Rijan Dhakal (A) – 10 lakhs
Kamal Singh Airee (A) – 10 lakhs
Sharad Vesawakar (A) – 10 lakhs
Bipin Rawal (B) – 8 lakhs
Amar Singh Rautel (B) – 5 lakhs
Deepak Bohara (B) – 5 lakhs
Dipesh Shrestha (B) – 5 lakhs
Santosh Karki (C) – 5 lakhs
Ranjit Kumar (C) – 3 lakhs
Gautam KC (C) – 2 lakhs
spent – 63 lakhs
Kathmandu Gurkhas
Marquee Player – Karan KC
Players signed from the auction:
Shahab Alam (A) – 15 lakhs
Bhim Sharki (A) -15 lakhs
Rashid Khan (A) – 10 lakhs
Shankar Rana (B) – 9.5 lakhs
Dipesh Kandel (B) – 5 lakhs
Sumit Maharjan (B) -5 lakhs
Krishna Karki (B) – 5 lakhs
Bibek Kc (C) – 2 lakhs
Raju Rijan (C) – 2 lakhs
Pratik Shrestha (C) – 2 lakhs
spent – 70.50 lakhs
Click here to see the conclusion of the live update from the NPL auction.
Pokhara Avengers
Marquee Player – Kushal Bhurtel
Players signed from the auction:
Sagar Dhakal (A) – 15 lakhs
Aakash Chand (A) – 11.5 lakhs
Dilip Nath (A) – 10 lakhs
Kiran Thagunna (B) – 10 lakhs
Narayan Joshi (B) – 10 lakhs
Bipin Khatri (B) – 10 lakhs
Sunam Gautam (B) -5 lakhs
Trit Raj Das (C) – 5 lakhs
Amrit Gurung (C) – 2 lakhs
Dinesh Kharel (C) – 2 lakhs
spent – 80.50 lakhs
Lumbini Lions
Marquee Player – Rohit Kumar Paudel
Players signed from the auction:
Surya Tamang (A) – 15 lakhs
Bibek Yadav (A) – 15 lakhs
Sundeep Jora (A) – 15 lakhs
Ashutosh Ghiraiya (B) – 10 lakhs
Tilak Raj Bhandari (B) – 10 lakhs
Durgesh Gupta (B) – 8 lakhs
Arjun Saud (B) – 5 lakhs
Dinesh Adhikari (C) – 2.75 lakhs
Abhisesh Gautam (C) – 2 lakhs
Bikash Aagri (C) – 2 lakhs
spent – 84.75 lakhs
Karnali Yaks
Marquee Player – Sompal Kami
Players signed from the auction:
Gulshan Jha (A) – 15 lakhs
Nandan Yadav (A) – 11 lakhs
Dev Khanal (A) – 10 lakhs
Mausam Dhakal (B) – 10 lakhs
Arjun Gharti (B) – 10 lakhs
Rit Gautam (B) – 5 lakhs
Bhuwan Karki (B) – 5 lakhs
Unish Bikram Singh Thakuri (C) – 2 lakhs
Dipendra Rawat (C) – 3 lakhs
Dipak Dumre (C) – 3 lakhs
spent – 74 lakhs
Sudurpaschim Royals
Marquee Player – Dipendra Singh Airee
Players signed from the auction:
Aarif Sheikh (A) – 15 lakhs
Abinash Bohara (A) – 12 lakhs
Binod Bhandari (A) – 10 lakhs
Ishan Pandey (B) – 9.50 lakhs
Arjun Kumal (B) – 7.50 lakhs
Khadak Bohara (B) – 5 lakhs
Naresh Budhayer (B) – 5 lakhs
Bhoj Raj Bhatta (C) – 4.50 lakhs
Amit Shrestha (C) – 3.50 lakhs
Naren Saud (C) – 2 lakhs
spent – 74 lakhs
Every team will now sign four foreign players via a draft and one iconic player (local) from the talent haunt to complete the 16-player squad.
Related stories
Karnali Yaks refute sale rumors
Nepal Premier League: Cricnepal’s Team of the Tournament
Janakpur edge past Karnali in a nail-biting contest to reach Final
Bam-Ahamad powers Biratnagar Kings to record chase
Chitwan Rhinos secures a five-wicket win over Kathmandu Gurkhas
