Nepal Premier League 2024: Schedule, squads, live streaming, broadcasters & all you need to know

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The T20 cricket fever has finally hit the Everest nation aka Nepal as the new league in the cricket world, Nepal Premier League (NPL 2024) gets underway today (Saturday), November 30, 2024. Several international cricket stars will be playing with the local talents of Nepal cricket. This also includes the likes of the former India opener, Shikhar Dhawan, New Zealand's Martin Guptill and ace leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, to name a few.

Notably, there are eight teams which will be clashing in the inaugural edition of the league viz- Karnali Yaks, Chitwan Rhinos, Janakpur Bolts, Kathmandu Gurkhas, Biratnagar Kings, Lumbini Lions, Sudurpaschim Royals and Pokhara Avengers, respectively. When it comes to the number of matches, a total of 32 matches will be played. All these games will take place at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, situated in Kirtipur.

The opening game of the tournament is scheduled to start at 9 AM (IST), while there are two other times are considered for the tournament. Hence some games of the NPL 2024 will be played at 12 PM and 1 PM (IST time zones), respectively. In the first game, teams Janakpur Bolts and Biratnagar Kings will kick off the NPL. This game is expected to be played at 12 PM noon (IST). The coveted tournament will conclude on December 21.

For the unversed, the tournament will replace the earlier T20 cricket competition started by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), Nepal T20 League, which was played only once in the year 2022. The tournament is aimed to boost and spread the game of cricket across the country and also enable the young budding cricketers to learn from the international stars and groom ahead which will strengthen Nepal's cricket.

Format of the NPL 2024 tournament

The first-ever edition of the Nepal Premier League will consist of two stages. The first (league) stage will be played in a single round-robin-based format where each franchise will play against one another which would mean that each team will get to play seven games. Post the conclusion of the league stage, the top four teams as per the NPL points table, will further qualify for the second stage of the tournament.

In the second stage, the top four teams will play in the playoffs just like the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) format which is played in India. During this stage of the NPL 2024, the third and fourth-positioned teams will cross swords in the 'Eliminator' game. While the top two teams will battle it out in what will be the 'Qualifier 1' match. The winner of this game will go through to the final of the Nepal Premier League.

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However, the losing team of the Qualifier 1 match will still have a chance to make it to the final of the NPL 2024 by playing against the winner of the 'Qualifier 2' game. In the end, the winning teams of Qualifier 1 and 2, respectively, will play the summit clash of the newly born T20 cricket league in the Everest nation. The final of the tournament will be played on December 21, 2024.

Nepal Premier League 2024 squads

Karnali Yaks:

Shikhar Dhawan, Sompal Kami (Marquee Player), Gulshan Kumar Jha, Nandan Yadav, Mausam Dhakal, Arjun Gharti, Dev Khanal, Rit Gautam, Bhuban Karki, Dipendra Rawat, Dipak Dumre, Unish Bikram Singh Thakuri, Chadwick Walton, Babar Hayat, Hussain Talat.

Chitwan Rhinos:

Kushal Malla (Marquee Player), Rijan Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee, Sharad Vesawkar, Bipin Rawal, Santosh Karki, Dipesh Shrestha, Amar Singh Rautela, Deepak Bohara, Ranjeet Kumar, Gautam KC, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Marchant De Lange, Luc Benkenstein, Hassan Eisakhil.

Janakpur Bolts:

Aasif Sheikh (Marquee Player), Lalit Rajbanshi, Anil Kumar Sah, Rupesh K Singh, Kishore Mahato, Aakash Tripathi, Shubh Kansakar, Sher Malla, Hemant Dhami, Arniko Prasad Yadav, Tul Bahadur Thapa Magar, James Neesham, Sohaib Maqsood, Lahiru Milantha, Muhammad Mohsin, Joshua Tromp.

Kathmandu Gurkhas:

Karan KC (Marquee Player), Shahab Alam, Bhim Sharki, Rashid Khan, Shankar Rana, Dipesh Prasad Kandel, Sumit Maharjan, Krishna Karki, Bibek KC, Pratik Shrestha, Raju Rizal, Michael Levitt, Gerhard Erasmus, Stevie Sean Eskinazi, Dan Douthwaite.

Biratnagar Kings:

Martin Guptill, Sandeep Lamichhane (Marquee Player), Lokesh Bam, Pratish GC, Bashir Ahmad, Rajesh Pulami Magar, Jitendra Kumar Mukhiya, Anil Kharel, Dipak Bohara, Subhash Bhandari, Naren Bhatta, Mrinal Gurung, Chris Sole, Nicholas Kirton, Aqib Ilyas, Ismat Alam.

Lumbini Lions:

Rohit Kumar Paudel (Marquee Player), Surya Tamang, Bibek Yadav, Sundeep Jora, Aashutosh Ghiraiya, Tilak Raj Bhandari, Durgesh Gupta, Arjun Saud, Dinesh Adhikari, Abhishesh Gautam, Bikash Aagri, Unmukt Chand, Ben Cutting, Tom Moores.

Sudurpaschim Royals:

Dipendra Singh Airee (Marquee Player), Md Aarif Sheikh, Abinash Bohara, Binod Bhandari, Ishan Pandey, Arjun Kumal, Khadak Bahadur Bohara, Naresh Budhayer, Bhoj Raj Bhatta, Amit Shrestha, Naren Saud, Rohan Mustafa, Scott Kuggeleijn, Saif Zaib, Brandon McMullen.

Pokhara Avengers:

Kushal Bhurtel (Marquee Player), Sagar Dhakal, Aakash Chand, Kiran Kumar Thagunna, Narayan Joshi, Bipin Khatri, Dilip Nath, Trit Raj Das, Sunam Gautam, Dinesh Kharel, Amrit Gurung, Anderson Phillip, Bas De Leede, Andries Gous, Matt Critchley, Raymon Reifer, Michael Leask.

Complete Schedule of Nepal Premier League 2024

Nepal Premier League 2024 Live Streaming and Broadcasting Details

Where to Watch in India? 

Broadcasting Details for TV:

All cricket fans who are excited to watch the inaugural edition of the Nepal Premier League in India can tune in to Star Sports Network through the Star Sports Select 1 channel.

Broadcasting Details for Live Streaming:

Besides, when it concerns live streaming of the NPL matches, fans can watch them on the Fan Code App. Alongside the app, they can also watch it on the Fan Code website by buying a tour pass which costs INR 89.

Where to Watch in Nepal?

Broadcasting Details for TV:

While for the cricket fans of Nepal, fans can watch the game on Television (TV) via Star Sports Network.

Broadcasting Details for Live Streaming:

When it comes to the live streaming mode, Nepalese fans can check the DishHome Go app and Action Sports HD YouTube channel to enjoy the NPL 2024 matches.