Kathmandu, Aug 10: Eight teams have selected 37 players from the mini auction held for the second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL). Out of the 164 players shortlisted for the auction, 37 were contracted.
In the first round of the auction, eight teams signed 26 players. The remaining 11 players, who were not picked in the first round, were selected from the “wish list.” Four players in the “A” category were bought for Rs 1.5 million each. Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Adil Alam, and Pawan Sarraf were the highest-valued signings for the second edition.
Dev and Arjun will play for Chitwan Rhinos, Adil for Kathmandu Gorkhas, and Pawan for Karnali Yaks. As more than one team sought these four players, their teams were decided through a “lucky draw.”
Similarly, Dilip Nath and Sher Malla were signed by Lumbini Lions, Hemant Dhami by Sudurpaschim Royals, Surya Tamang by Biratnagar Kings, Santosh Yadav by Kathmandu Gurkhas, and Yuvraj Khatri by Karnali Yaks — each for Rs 1 million.
Mayan Yadav was signed by Janakpur Bolts for Rs 775,000, and Aakash Tripathi by Kathmandu Gurkhas for Rs 700,000. Likewise, Shankar Rana, Narayan Joshi, and Sahil Patel were signed by Biratnagar Kings; Arjun Kumal by Pokhara Avengers; Bishal Patel and Durgesh Gupta by Lumbini Lions; Aditya Mehta and Bikash Agri by Janakpur Bolts; Bipin Rawal by Chitwan Rhinos; and Deepak Bohara and Milan Bohara by Sudurpaschim Royals — each for Rs 500,000. Uttam Thapa Magar was signed by Kathmandu Gurkhas for Rs 300,000.
Similarly, Tek Bahadur Rawat and Dipendra Thapa were signed by Sudurpaschim Royals; Sandeep Khatri Kshetri, Abhishek Tiwari, and Krishna Paudel by Pokhara Avengers; Sachin Bhatt by Janakpur Bolts; Tul Bahadur Thapa by Kathmandu Gorkhas; Imran Sheikh and Deepak Dumre by Karnali Yaks; Adil Khan by Lumbini Lions; Shrawan Kisku by Biratnagar Kings; and Bipin Acharya and Ranjit Kumar by Chitwan Rhinos — each for Rs 200,000.
In Saturday’s auction, 150 players participated. From the 458 registered players, 150 were shortlisted for the mini auction. The minimum price for the “A” category was set at Rs 1 million and the maximum at Rs 1.5 million; for the “B” category, the minimum was Rs 500,000 and the maximum Rs 1 million; and for the “C” category, the minimum was Rs 200,000 and the maximum Rs 500,000. With this, 88 players are now contracted across the eight teams. Each team has selected 11 Nepali players and will now sign at least four foreign players.
Players in all eight teams
Janakpur Bolts: Aasif Sheikh (marquee player), Anil Kumar Sah, Shubh Kansakar, Kishore Mahato, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Tul Bahadur Thapa Magar, Rupesh Singh, Sachin Bhatt, Aditya Mehta, Mayan Yadav, Bikash Agri.
Sudurpaschim Royals: Dipendra Singh Airee (marquee player), Binod Bhandari, Arif Sheikh, Avinash Bohara, Ishan Pandey, Naren Saud, Hemant Dhami, Tek Bahadur Rawat, Dipesh Thapa, Deepak Bohara, Milan Bohara.
Karnali Yaks: Sompal Kami (marquee player), Gulshan Jha, Nandan Yadav, Arjun Gharti, Dipendra Rawat, Bipin Prasad Sharma, Younis Bikram Singh Thakuri, Pawan Sarraf, Imran Sheikh, Deepak Dumrel, Yuvraj Khatri.
Chitwan Rhinos: Kushal Malla (marquee player), Rijhan Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee, Deepak Bohara, Amar Singh Rautela, Gautam KC, Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Bipin Rawal, Bipin Acharya, Ranjit Kumar.
Kathmandu Gurkhas: Karan KC (marquee player), Bhim Sharki, Dipesh Kandel, Shahab Alam, Pratik Shrestha, Rashid Khan, Uttam Thapa Magar, Tul Bahadur Thapa, Santosh Yadav, Aakash Tripathi, Adil Alam.
Biratnagar Kings: Sandeep Lamichhane (marquee player), Lokesh Bam, Pratish GC, Basir Ahmad, Naren Bhatt, Subash Bhandari, Surya Tamang, Sahil Patel, Narayan Joshi, Shravan Kisku, Shankar Rana.
Pokhara Avengers: Kushal Bhurtel (marquee player), Dinesh Kharel, Bipin Khatri, Sagar Dhakal, Kiran Thagunna, Aakash Chand, Trit Raj Das, Abhishek Tiwari, Arjun Kumal, Krishna Paudel, Sandeep Khatri Kshetri.
Lumbini Lions: Rohit Paudel (marquee player), Sandeep Jora, bibek Yadav, Tilak Raj Bhandari, Abhishek Gautam, Dinesh Adhikari, Dilip Nath, Bishal Patel, Sher Malla, Durgesh Gupta, Adil Khan.
On Saturday, Chitwan Rhinos spent the most on players, while Pokhara Avengers spent the least. Chitwan spent Rs 3.9 million, Kathmandu Rs 3.7 million, Lumbini Rs 3.2 million, Karnali Rs 2.9 million, Biratnagar Rs 2.7 million, Sudurpaschim Rs 2.4 million, Janakpur Rs 1.975 million, and Pokhara Rs 1.1 million.
