Cricket Kitchen

NPL Season 2: Which Teams Released Which Players?

July 8, 2025

 

Kathmandu – As preparations begin for the second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), all eight franchises have finalized and announced their retained and released players for the upcoming season, scheduled to be held in November.

Out of a total of 96 required Nepali players across the league, 51 players have been retained, while 45 players from last season have been released. These released players will now enter the mini-auction, where they will have the opportunity to be picked again—either by their former teams or a new franchise.

According to league rules for Season 2, each team must include at least 12 Nepali players in their final squad. With the retention lists now published, three teams still need to sign at least five players, while five other teams must add six more Nepali players through the mini-auction.

Here is the list of released players by each team:

 Janakpur Royals (Defending Champions) – 6 players released

Hemant Dhami

Mayan Yadav

Bishal Sushling

Akash Tripathi

Araniko Yadav

Sher Malla

 Sudurpaschim Royals – 6 players released

Arjun Kumal

Naresh Budhaair

Khadak Bahadur Bohora

Bhojraj Bhatt

Amit Shrestha

Basanta Khatri

Chitwan Rhinos – 5 players released

Bipin Rawal

Dipesh Shrestha

Ranjit Kumar

Santosh Karki

Sharad Vesawkar

Karnali Yaks – 5 players released

Mausam Dhakal

Dev Khanal

Rit Gautam

Bhuvan Karki

Deepak Dumre

Kathmandu Gurkhas – 6 players released

Shankar Rana

Sumit Maharjan

Krishna Karki

Vivek KC

Raju Rijal

Krish Karki

 Biratnagar Kings – 6 players released

Rajesh Pulami Magar

Jitendra Mukhiya

Anil Kharel

Deepak Bohora

Mrinal Gurung

Sujan Thapaliya

 Pokhara Avengers – 5 players released

Narayan Joshi

Dilip Nath

Sunam Gautam

Amrit Gurung

Sudeep Aryal

Lumbini Lions – 6 players released

Surya Tamang

Arjun Saud

Durgesh Gupta

Ashutosh Ghireyya

Bikash Agri

Arif Khan

All released players will now participate in the NPL mini-auction, which is scheduled to be held in August, as confirmed by CAN. They will have a chance to return to their previous teams or join a new one for Season 2 of Nepal’s premier franchise T20 competition.