eSewa Turns Every NPL Boundary Into Red Panda Support

Every four and six in Nepal Premier League Season 3 now counts for something beyond the scoreboard: eSewa will turn each boundary into money for red panda habitat in eastern Nepal.

Every boundary now carries a price for conservation

eSewa, the Nepal Premier League's official ticketing partner, has launched the Every Boundary Counts campaign for Season 3. Under the campaign, the digital payment company will contribute Rs 2,000 for every six and Rs 1,000 for every four hit during the tournament, up to a maximum of Rs 10 lakh, inclusive of taxes. The announcement came in the tournament's opening week, and was reported again in Kathmandu on November 3 at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.

The campaign is a tripartite partnership. eSewa is working with the Red Panda Network and Red Panda Network Nepal, and the money raised from boundaries will be channelled through them into habitat work rather than handed over as a one-off donation. The total is not fixed in advance, so it grows with the cricket itself, boundary by boundary, until it reaches the cap.

Where the money will go

The funds are earmarked for community forests in Ilam and Panchthar, two eastern districts where red pandas are found. The planned work covers the restoration of about 10 hectares of degraded habitat, the planting of 10,000 native saplings, and the creation of paid work equal to roughly 600 labour days for local communities, with priority given to women. The planting and protection work itself is scheduled for June and July 2027, after the tournament, when saplings can be planted and cared for in the community forests.

Red pandas are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and habitat loss is the threat this campaign is aimed at. For the eight franchises playing at Kirtipur, that means the most entertaining passages of their matches are also the moments that fund the habitat work.

What eSewa and its partners said

Ravi Shakya, Chief Strategy Officer at eSewa, framed the campaign as a way of turning the tournament's popularity into conservation. "The Nepal Premier League is a grand celebration for cricket fans across the country. We have endeavored to transform the excitement of the game into nature conservation by supporting the protection of red panda habitats for every 'four' and 'six' hit during the NPL," Shakya said. "Through this campaign, we aim to leverage the positive influence of sports to foster biodiversity conservation and support the livelihoods of local communities."

The conservation partners welcomed the tie-up in the same terms. Ang Phuri Sherpa, Executive Director of the Red Panda Network, said the partnership links cricket's popularity with wildlife preservation and gives a boost to ongoing conservation and community welfare work. Dr Shailendra Bahadur Thakali, Chairperson of Red Panda Network Nepal, thanked eSewa for connecting the energy of cricket with the survival of the red panda, and said he was confident the partnership would advance habitat restoration and the creation of green jobs. Supporters tracking live scores will therefore be watching two totals at once: the match total, and the boundary count behind it.

Why a cricket league is funding a forest

This is a cleverer sponsorship than a logo on a boundary rope. A fixed donation is announced once and forgotten; a per-boundary pledge is re-announced by the cricket itself, every time the ball reaches the fence. Fans do not need a press release to understand it, and they can count along: each six is worth twice a four, For a league still building its commercial identity in only its third season, that simplicity is the point.

It also puts the league's conservation claim on a measurable footing. The campaign's promises are specific, 10 hectares, 10,000 saplings, 600 labour days, and a date, June to July 2027, so they can be checked in a way that a vague pledge to support nature cannot. The risk runs the other way, too. The fieldwork comes months after the final, so supporters will have to trust eSewa's published updates to know whether the boundary money actually became trees. Meanwhile, on the field, the points table will decide which teams reach the playoffs, but the boundary count will decide how much of this campaign's promise is kept.

How fans can follow the running total

eSewa says details of the contributions generated by fours and sixes during the tournament will be published on its website and social media platforms. That is the only running total supporters should rely on: no source has yet published a boundary count for the season so far, and this article does not estimate one. The tournament, which runs from October 26 to November 21 under the schedule and is streamed worldwide, still has most of its league matches to play

Fans heading to the ground can also use the free fan shuttle running from Gate 2 to the entry gates, and eSewa's role as ticketing partner goes back to the league's media and ticketing rights deal, under which it won the ticketing rights for Season 3.

What to watch next

Two things are worth watching from here. The first is whether the boundary count reaches the Rs 10 lakh cap before the final on November 21: the cap means the campaign has a finish line, and a high-scoring second half of the season would get there sooner. The second is the quieter test, in June and July 2027, when the promised planting in Ilam and Panchthar is due. If the saplings go in and the local jobs materialise, Every Boundary Counts will have been more than a tournament slogan.