The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) held the Siddhartha Bank NPL Season 3 player auction in Kathmandu on July 6, 2026. A total of 347 players had signed up. After screening, only 155 players made it to the final list.
The live bidding itself sold 37 players. That is the number of players who actually went through competitive bidding on auction day. Once the hammer rounds finished, each franchise still had a few empty spots left to fill in their required 13 player domestic quota. To fix this, CAN ran a wish list round right after the auction. In this round, each team picked already unsold players at base price, no bidding involved, to complete their squad. That wish list round added 15 more players, taking the final total to 52 players signed and 103 unsold.
Players were split into three groups based on skill level:
| Category | Price Range | Number of Players |
|---|---|---|
| Category A | NPR 10 lakh to 15 lakh | 5 players |
| Category B | NPR 5 lakh to 10 lakh | 27 players |
| Category C | NPR 2 lakh to 5 lakh | 123 players |
Who Got the Highest Price?
Aasif Sheikh was the biggest name in the auction. He is Nepal’s regular wicketkeeper batter. He played as the marquee player for Janakpur Bolts in the first two NPL seasons, but Bolts released him before this season.
When he came up for bidding, seven of the eight teams wanted him. Only Chitwan Rhinos stayed out. Since so many teams matched the top bid of NPR 20 lakh, CAN settled it with a lucky draw. Lumbini Lions won the draw and signed him for NPR 20 lakh, the highest price of the day and the only player in the whole pool with that special price ceiling.
Full Category A Player List (The 5 Biggest Names)
All 5 Category A players were sold, and all five went to a lucky draw after teams tied at the maximum bid of NPR 15 lakh. Here is exactly who went where:
| Player | Price (NPR) | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Aasif Sheikh | 20 lakh | Lumbini Lions |
| Arjun Gharti | 15 lakh | Pokhara Avengers |
| Bibek Kumar Yadav | 15 lakh | Chitwan Rhinos |
| Rupesh Kumar Singh | 15 lakh | Biratnagar Kings |
| Trit Raj Das | 15 lakh | Janakpur Bolts |
Which Team Bought Which Players? (Team-by-Team List)
This is the part most fans search for. Below is the full list of confirmed players signed by each franchise, along with their respective categories and prices. The listed amounts reflect the player’s cost, though the total team expenditure may also factor in budget carried over from before the auction.
Lumbini Lions (Defending Champions)
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Mahamad Asif Sheikh | A | 20L |
| Kishore Mahato | B | 10L |
| Durgesh Gupta | B | 5L |
| Aakash Tripathi | B | 5L |
| Arniko Prasad Yadav | C | 2L |
| Ajay Chauhan | C | 2L |
Lumbini put almost half their entire budget into winning the Aasif Sheikh lucky draw alone, then filled out the rest of the squad with three Category B names and two economical Category C picks.
Janakpur Bolts
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Trit Raj Das | A | 15L |
| Abhishek Tiwari | B | 5L |
| Bishal Kumar Patel | B | 5L |
| Amar Singh Routela | B | 5L |
| Rit Gautam | C | 4.25L |
| Santosh Karki | C | 3L |
| Aashutosh Pandey | C | 2L |
| Bishal Susling | C | 2L |
After releasing Aasif Sheikh and then losing him to a rival in the lucky draw, Bolts used their league-leading purse to build the deepest squad in the auction, with three separate Category B signings, instead of chasing one big name.
Biratnagar Kings
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Rupesh Kumar Singh | A | 15L |
| Naren Saud | B | 5L |
| Dilsad Ali | B | 5L |
| Sujan Thapaliya | C | 4.25L |
| Aprajit Poudel | C | 2L |
| Pratik Shrestha | C | 2L |
| Imran Sheikh | C | 2L |
Kings put most of their money into winning Rupesh Kumar Singh in Category A, then used the rest of their purse on two Category B names and a wider spread of Category C depth.
Pokhara Avengers
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Arjun Gharti Chhetri | A | 15L |
| Sudip Aryal | C | 3L |
| Bibek Rana Magar | C | 2.75L |
| Sunny BK | C | 2L |
| Pratik Pokharel | C | 2L |
| Bipin Acharya | C | 2L |
Avengers committed heavily to Arjun Gharti Chhetri in Category A, then skipped Category B entirely and filled the rest of the squad with five Category C picks close to base price.
Chitwan Rhinos
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Bibek Kumar Yadav | A | 15L |
| Mausam Dhakal | C | 3L |
| Ashok Dhami | C | 2L |
| Bipin Rawal | C | 2L |
| Gautam KC | C | 2L |
| Salauddin Khan | C | 2L |
Rhinos were the only team to skip the Aasif Sheikh bidding entirely, locking in Bibek Kumar Yadav early instead and building the rest of their squad entirely through steady Category C picks.
Karnali Yaks
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Shubh Kansakar | B | 10L |
| Dipendra Rawat | B | 5L |
| Bipin Prasad Sharma | B | 5L |
| Surya Tamang | C | 2L |
| Sachin Sharma | C | 2L |
| Diwan Pun | C | 2L |
Karnali were the only team without a Category A signing, choosing instead to spend heavily inside Category B, headlined by pulling Shubh Kansakar away from Janakpur Bolts for 10 lakh.
Sudurpaschim Royals
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Dipak Bohara | B | 10L |
| Anil Kharel | B | 5L |
| Milan Bohara | B | 5L |
| Sachin Bhatta | C | 2L |
| Ayub Chand | C | 2L |
| Tek Rawat | C | 2L |
Like Karnali, Royals went without a Category A player, instead winning a lucky draw of their own for Dipak Bohara and building a solid Category B core around him.
Kathmandu Gorkhas
| Player | Category | Price (NPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Sahil Patel | B | 5L |
| Prashiddha Jaisi | C | 2L |
| Dayanand Mandal | C | 2L |
| Sonu Devkota | C | 2L |
| Krishna Paudel | C | 2L |
| Dev Shah | C | 2L |
| Suryanshu Koirala | C | 2L |
Working with the smallest purse in the league, Gorkhas signed only one Category B player and stacked the rest of their squad, seven players in total, entirely with base-price Category C picks.
Why the Wish List Round Was Needed
Under the new rules for this season, CAN raised each team’s domestic (Nepali) player quota from 12 to 14, including the marquee player. That meant every franchise needed 13 domestic players signed through retention, auction and wish list combined, on top of their one marquee pick. Once the 37 player hammer auction finished, a few teams were still short of that number. So CAN let each franchise pick straight from the unsold list at base price. Karnali Yaks and Kathmandu Gorkhas needed the most help, three wish list picks each. Pokhara Avengers, Biratnagar Kings and Sudurpaschim Royals needed two each. Janakpur Bolts, Chitwan Rhinos and Lumbini Lions needed just one each.
How Much Money Did Each Team Start With?
Before the auction, each team already had a purse left over after retaining players from last season. Here is how much each team had to spend on both the hammer auction and the wish list round combined:
| Team | Total Purse |
|---|---|
| Janakpur Bolts | 66.25 lakh |
| Biratnagar Kings | 51.5 lakh |
| Lumbini Lions | 49.25 lakh |
| Pokhara Avengers | 45.5 lakh |
| Sudurpaschim Royals | 42.5 lakh |
| Karnali Yaks | 42 lakh |
| Chitwan Rhinos | 42 lakh |
| Kathmandu Gorkhas | 34 lakh |
Janakpur Bolts had the biggest budget by far. That is one reason they were able to compete hard in the Aasif Sheikh bidding before losing him in the lucky draw.
Common Questions About the NPL Season 3 Auction
When was the NPL Season 3 auction held?
July 6, 2026, in Kathmandu.
How many players were sold in the NPL 2026 auction?
37 players were sold in the live hammer auction. A follow-up wish list round added more players to complete each team’s domestic quota, bringing the final total to 52 players signed out of 155 in the pool.
Who got the highest price in the NPL auction 2026?
Aasif Sheikh, sold to Lumbini Lions for NPR 20 lakh after a lucky draw between seven teams.
What is the wish list round in NPL auctions?
It is a follow-up process CAN uses after the main auction. Teams that still need players to reach their domestic quota can pick straight from the unsold list at base price, without any competitive bidding.
Which team had the biggest budget?
Janakpur Bolts, with a total purse of 66.25 lakh.
Which team had the smallest budget?
Kathmandu Gorkhas, with a total purse of 34 lakh.
How many domestic players will each team have this season?
14 Nepali players per team, made up of 13 signed through retention, auction and wish list, plus one marquee player.
When does NPL 2026 start?
The tournament is tentatively set for October and November 2026 at the TU Ground in Kirtipur. The exact daily match schedule has not been announced yet.
Also Read: NPL Season 2 Review: Champions, Awards and Final Takeaways
