NPL 2026 International Stars

Overseas stars by team

Biratnagar Kings

Andre Russell

Biratnagar Kings · All-rounder

CA

Charith Asalanka

Biratnagar Kings · Batter

Shubham Ranjane

Biratnagar Kings · All-rounder

Chitwan Rhinos

Kaleem Sana

Chitwan Rhinos · Bowler

Ravi Bopara

Chitwan Rhinos · All-rounder

Sikandar Raza

Chitwan Rhinos · All-rounder

UM

Usama Mir

Chitwan Rhinos · Bowler

Janakpur Bolts

HS

Harmeet Singh

Janakpur Bolts · All-rounder (captain)

IA

Iftikhar Ahmed

Janakpur Bolts · All-rounder

JN

Jimmy Neesham

Janakpur Bolts · All-rounder

Moeen Ali

Janakpur Bolts · All-rounder

Karnali Yaks

Akbar Ali

Karnali Yaks · Wicketkeeper-batter

Mark Watt

Karnali Yaks · Bowler

Kathmandu Gorkhas

David Warner

Kathmandu Gorkhas · Batter

KB

KS Bharat

Kathmandu Gorkhas · Wicketkeeper-batter

SA

Sahan Arachchige

Kathmandu Gorkhas · All-rounder

WB

Will Bosisto

Kathmandu Gorkhas · Batter

Lumbini Lions

Niroshan Dickwella

Lumbini Lions · Wicketkeeper-batter

SS

Shadley van Schalkwyk

Lumbini Lions · All-rounder

SH

Shamim Hossain

Lumbini Lions · All-rounder

Ruben Trumpelmann

Lumbini Lions · Bowler

Pokhara Avengers

Chamika Karunaratne

Pokhara Avengers · All-rounder

DL

Dhananjaya Lakshan

Pokhara Avengers · All-rounder

MH

Mahedi Hasan

Pokhara Avengers · All-rounder

Shakib Al Hasan

Pokhara Avengers · All-rounder

Sudurpaschim Royals

BM

Brandon McMullen

Sudurpaschim Royals · All-rounder

Scott Kuggeleijn

Sudurpaschim Royals · Bowling all-rounder

SZ

Saif Ali Zaib

Sudurpaschim Royals · All-rounder

Season 3 overseas stars in focus

The notes below cover all 28 confirmed overseas signings for Season 3: one paragraph per player, with the team and role exactly as listed in the table above. Each player’s full profile is linked from the cards above, where career records, playing style and season detail are set out in full.

Andre Russell joins the Biratnagar Kings as the most experienced T20 cricketer in the tournament. The West Indies all-rounder won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016, is a two-time IPL champion with Kolkata Knight Riders, and had played 611 T20 matches, scoring 9,933 runs and taking 539 wickets, by the time Biratnagar announced his signing on 18 October 2026. He plays under Sandeep Lamichhane’s captaincy in Season 3.

Charith Asalanka brings Sri Lankan international pedigree to the Biratnagar Kings as a batter. A former Sri Lanka white-ball captain, he scored 231 runs at the 2021 T20 World Cup, followed by a maiden ODI hundred, 110 against Australia in 2022, and an unbeaten 80 from 49 balls against Bangladesh. Expected to bat at four or five, he also offers part-time right-arm off-break.

Shubham Ranjane is the Biratnagar Kings’ United States all-rounder. The Pune-born all-rounder returns after a Season 2 stint in which he scored 87 runs and took 5 wickets in four matches, and he starred for Texas Super Kings in MLC 2025 with 268 runs at an average of 67. He has also played T20Is for the USA.

Kaleem Sana gives the Chitwan Rhinos a left-arm point of difference. Canada’s left-arm fast bowler, born in Rawalpindi, is the only left-arm quick in Chitwan’s attack. He took a hat-trick with figures of 4/13 for Montreal Tigers in GT20 Canada and played five matches at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Ravi Bopara is in his third consecutive season with the Chitwan Rhinos. The former England all-rounder is the franchise’s all-time top scorer with 523 runs in 15 matches, including 286 in Season 1, the tournament’s second-highest tally that year. For England he played 120 ODIs.

Sikandar Raza joins the Chitwan Rhinos as an all-rounder and the most decorated overseas name the franchise has signed. Zimbabwe’s T20 captain has scored 9,382 international runs and taken 252 wickets since his 2013 debut, won league titles with Lahore Qalandars, Trinbago Knight Riders and Dubai Capitals, and already knows Nepali conditions: in the 2021 Everest Premier League he scored 129 runs and took four wickets in five matches for Biratnagar Warriors.

Usama Mir adds specialist leg-spin to the Chitwan Rhinos. The 6 ft 3 in Pakistan bowler was the leading wicket-taker of the 2024 Pakistan Super League with 24 wickets in 12 matches for Multan Sultans, and at the 2023 World Cup he became the first concussion substitute in the tournament’s history.

Harmeet Singh will captain the Janakpur Bolts in Season 3, an appointment announced alongside his signing on 8 August 2026. The United States all-rounder, part of India’s 2012 Under-19 World Cup squad before switching allegiance, has played 29 T20 internationals, taking 31 wickets and scoring 242 runs, and 39 ODIs. A slow left-arm orthodox spinner who bats aggressively in the lower order, he arrives with an unusual credential: two lost NPL finals, both with Sudurpaschim Royals. His Season 2 return of 133 runs and 12 wickets shows a genuine two-phase contributor who now leads Janakpur’s spin-built attack.

Iftikhar Ahmed is Janakpur’s middle-order finisher. The Peshawar-born Pakistan all-rounder bloomed late for his country, playing 66 T20Is (998 runs) and 28 ODIs, and across 328 career T20 matches he has scored 6,181 runs at a strike rate of 129.22. Janakpur have signed him as their right-handed spin-hitter.

Jimmy Neesham returns to the Janakpur Bolts as an all-rounder, the franchise whose first title he powered. In Season 1 he scored 247 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 196.0, alongside seven wickets. After a quieter Season 2 with Pokhara Avengers, the 349-match T20 veteran, more than 4,700 runs at a strike rate above 140 and close to 290 wickets, plus 3,309 runs and 149 wickets for New Zealand, is again Janakpur’s proven match-winner.

Moeen Ali brings two World Cup winner’s medals to the Janakpur Bolts: the 2019 ODI title and the 2022 T20 title, where he was vice-captain. The England all-rounder retired from international cricket in September 2024 after 68 Tests, 138 ODIs and 92 T20Is, and his 439 domestic T20 appearances make him one of the most experienced overseas signings in Season 3.

Akbar Ali is the Karnali Yaks’ wicketkeeper-batter. The Rangpur-born Bangladeshi captained his country to the 2020 Under-19 World Cup title, Bangladesh’s first ICC trophy at any level, finishing unbeaten on 43 in the final as Bangladesh beat India by three wickets under the DLS method.

Mark Watt leads the Karnali Yaks’ spin attack. The Edinburgh-born slow left-arm orthodox spinner has been a Scotland international since 2015, with 92 ODIs and 83 T20Is and a T20I best of 5/27 against the Netherlands. In Season 2 he scored the highest individual innings in NPL history: 114 not out.

David Warner is the headline signing of Season 3, joining the Kathmandu Gorkhas as an opening batter. The Australian left-hander arrives with nearly 19,000 international runs and 49 centuries across 112 Tests, 161 ODIs and 110 T20 internationals, plus two ODI World Cup titles and the Player of the Tournament award from Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup win. No batter has topped the IPL run charts in more seasons. His Orange Caps came in 2015 and 2017, with a third following in 2019, a tally that stands alone. He captained Sunrisers Hyderabad to the 2016 title. Announced in September 2026, he gives Kathmandu the most decorated top order in the tournament.

KS Bharat takes the gloves for the Kathmandu Gorkhas as a wicketkeeper-batter, the franchise’s first overseas signing of Season 3. Kona Srikar Bharat played seven Tests for India and owns a piece of Indian domestic history: his 308 against Goa in February 2015 was the first triple century by a wicketkeeper-batter in Ranji Trophy history. With 1,812 T20 runs behind him and a first-class technique built on timing rather than muscle, he gives Kathmandu a proven gloveman and a spin-sure middle-order option.

Sahan Arachchige completes the Kathmandu Gorkhas’ overseas group as an all-rounder. The Sri Lankan left-hand batter, who bowls right-arm off-break, arrived fresh from a title-winning Lanka Premier League campaign with Galle in which he scored 240 runs at a strike rate above 147 across all 11 matches. He has five ODI caps and a T20 international appearance behind him, and captained Sri Lanka’s Asian Games squad.

Will Bosisto is the Kathmandu Gorkhas’ Australian batter. He captained Australia at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup and was named Player of the Tournament, scoring 276 runs and being dismissed only once, including 87 not out in the final against India. He joins Kathmandu after earlier NPL seasons with Karnali Yaks, and has played T20 cricket for the Perth Scorchers.

Niroshan Dickwella is the Lumbini Lions’ wicketkeeper-batter. The Sri Lankan has played 54 Tests, 55 ODIs and 28 T20Is since 2014, scoring two ODI centuries, and he has 137 runs in six NPL matches for the Lions, at an average of 34.25.

Shadley van Schalkwyk is the Lumbini Lions’ United States all-rounder. The right-arm medium-fast bowler and left-handed batter took 239 first-class wickets in South African domestic cricket before switching to the United States, where he has played 13 ODIs and 18 T20Is, and he turns out for Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket. Announced on 22 October 2026, he arrived in form: 13 wickets in four innings for the USA at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Nepali fans have seen him before. He played for Lumbini All Stars in the 2022 Nepal T20 League, where an unbeaten 31 from 11 balls and 3 for 27 won him player of the match against Pokhara Avengers.

Shamim Hossain is the Lumbini Lions’ fourth overseas signing for Season 3, announced by the franchise on 23 October 2026. The Bangladesh left-handed batting all-rounder, who also bowls off-spin, was part of the squad that won the 2020 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. He made his T20 international debut against Zimbabwe in July 2021, was selected for Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad later that year, and made his ODI debut against Afghanistan in 2023. His domestic T20 credentials come from a standout Bangladesh Premier League campaign with Chattogram Kings, where he scored 352 runs at a strike rate of about 160 and helped take the side to the final. The NPL is his first foreign league.

Ruben Trumpelmann is the Lumbini Lions’ left-arm fast bowler and the defending champions’ pace spearhead. He was Player of the Series in Season 2, taking 15 wickets in the Lions’ title run, including 3 for 3 in the final. For Namibia he has 73 wickets in 49 ODIs, with two five-wicket hauls.

Chamika Karunaratne brings Sri Lankan international experience to the Pokhara Avengers as a bowling all-rounder. Capped in all three formats, 1 Test, 26 ODIs and 45 T20Is, he was part of Sri Lanka’s 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup squads and has taken 101 wickets across 150 T20 matches. He joins Shakib Al Hasan and Dhananjaya Lakshan in Pokhara’s overseas group for Season 3.

Dhananjaya Lakshan re-signed with the Pokhara Avengers after a standout Season 2. The Sri Lanka left-hand batting all-rounder took 10 wickets in just 3 matches at 6.70 apiece, already second on the franchise’s all-time bowling list, and has played 3 ODIs for Sri Lanka.

Mahedi Hasan joins the Pokhara Avengers as a Bangladesh all-rounder who bowls right-arm off-break. A T20 World Cup squad member in 2021 and 2024, he took 8 wickets in 7 innings at the 2021 tournament and stood eighth in the ICC T20I bowling rankings when Pokhara announced his signing on 21 October 2026; he also won South Asian Games gold with Bangladesh in Kathmandu and Pokhara in 2019.

Shakib Al Hasan is the marquee overseas signing of the Pokhara Avengers, an all-rounder whose record places him among the finest the game has produced. Across 71 Tests, 247 ODIs and 129 T20 internationals for Bangladesh he has taken 317 ODI wickets and scored 7,570 ODI runs, and his 2019 World Cup, 606 runs and 11 wickets, remains the only 600-run, ten-wicket tournament any player has ever produced. For Pokhara, chasing a first playoff appearance under captain Kushal Bhurtel and head coach Ajantha Mendis, he supplies four overs of left-arm spin, a flexible left-hand batting option and a dressing-room standard the squad has lacked.

Brandon McMullen returns to the Sudurpaschim Royals as a Scotland all-rounder. He scored 201 runs and took six wickets in the Royals’ inaugural season, including 53 off 36 balls against Kathmandu Gorkhas, and starred for Scotland at the 2024 T20 World Cup with 140 runs at a strike rate of 170.73.

Scott Kuggeleijn has anchored the Sudurpaschim Royals’ attack since the first season and returns for a third straight edition. The New Zealand right-arm fast bowler’s 27 wickets across the first two seasons are the most by any bowler in NPL history, and he has played international cricket for New Zealand across formats.

Saif Ali Zaib returns to the Sudurpaschim Royals as an all-rounder, announced in August 2026 as the franchise’s first confirmed overseas signing, the homecoming supporters had wanted. The English left-hander, who also bowls slow left-arm orthodox, defined the Royals’ inaugural campaign with 275 runs and 12 wickets in nine matches as the club’s leading run-scorer, earning the competition’s best player honour, before spending Season 2 with Chitwan Rhinos. A career Northamptonshire player with more than 1,792 T20 runs at a strike rate north of 140, he arrives in form after a September 2026 century against Middlesex at Lord’s.

Names sometimes misreported

Several big names circulate in fan-made "confirmed signings" graphics that the reviewed reports do not support for Season 3: Heinrich Klaasen, Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, David Guptill, Chris Lynn, Jishan Alam, D'Arcy Short and Ariful Islam are not verified Season 3 overseas signings. Jimmy Neesham is a Janakpur Bolts signing, not a Chitwan Rhinos one. This page tracks only what the dated reports confirm; the list above will grow or change as the league and franchises announce more.

What a signing means — and what it does not

An overseas signing confirms a contract, not a playing XI place. Availability shifts with injury, national-team duty and workload decisions, and the final XI is named at the toss on match day. Treat any "confirmed playing XI" published days before a fixture as speculation.

For the full domestic core behind these names, retentions from June and the 6 July mega auction, see the team rosters and the player directory. Season 3 runs 26 October–21 November 2026; the fixture list shows when each team's overseas contingent first appears.

Conclusion

With 28 overseas players confirmed across the eight squads and a maximum of four allowed in any playing XI, the foreign groups are set before the first ball on 26 October 2026. Team selections on match day will decide which four take the field for each side.

Frequently Asked Questions