ICC Board Meeting May Be Held in Nepal During NPL Season 3

CAN vice-president Roshan Singh says talks to bring the ICC board meeting to Kathmandu during the Nepal Premier League are in their final stages — with the tournament's atmosphere set to be part of the pitch.

Talks enter the final stage

The Cricket Association of Nepal is in advanced talks to bring the International Cricket Council's board meeting to Kathmandu during the third season of the Nepal Premier League. CAN vice-president Roshan Singh told OnlineKhabar on October 8 that discussions have reached an advanced stage, with only a few issues remaining before an official announcement.

Singh gave the same account to Himal Press, telling the outlet over the phone that there is a possibility the ICC board meeting will be held in Kathmandu and that discussions were underway to organise it during the NPL. "It is a regular ICC meeting, but efforts are being made to organize it during the NPL," he said.

No date has been finalized. According to Singh, the meeting could be held toward the latter part of the tournament, when only a few matches remain. The third edition of the NPL begins on October 26 and runs through November 21 at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, with the full NPL Season 3 schedule already announced.

Why CAN wants the meeting alongside the league

CAN's logic is straightforward: let the game's decision-makers experience Nepal's biggest cricket festival up close. Singh told Himal Press that staging the meeting during the tournament would allow ICC officials to observe preparations for the NPL and other aspects of Nepal's cricket development.

"ICC officials want to look into Nepal's potential in cricket, infrastructure, preparations for the NPL and other issues," Singh said. "If the meeting is held during the NPL, we believe they will get an opportunity to learn about the preparations and other aspects."

He was even more direct in the OnlineKhabar interview: "We want to create an environment where, after seeing the cricket atmosphere here, the ICC's perception of Nepal also changes." CAN believes the visit would not only boost Nepali cricket but also have a positive impact on the country's tourism sector — a natural extension of an event that already draws thousands of travelling fans to Kirtipur, as our NPL 2026 ticket guide shows.

The timing fits a tournament deliberately scheduled to straddle the festival season. NPL Season 3 runs between Dashain and Tihar, with the league's eight NPL franchises playing 28 league matches before the playoffs.

A signal of Nepal's growing weight in world cricket

For Nepal, hosting an ICC board meeting would be more than logistical prestige — it would be recognition of how far its cricket has travelled. The NPL has become one of world cricket's most watched associate-league products, and Season 3's marquee roll call — David Warner, Shakib Al Hasan, Moeen Ali and Charith Asalanka among them — has given the tournament genuine international pull.

Commercially, the league has taken a big leap this season: CAN awarded the Season 3 media and ticketing rights for Rs 33.53 crore, putting NetTV and Himalaya Television in charge of worldwide streaming and Nepal TV coverage. An ICC board meeting held in the same window would place Nepal's cricket governance on display at its peak moment of the year.

The development also lands while CAN awaits written ICC approval for the NPL's own sanction. As reported earlier this week, the sanction process is at an advanced stage, and teams are expected to announce their remaining overseas players once written approval arrives. A successful board meeting in Kathmandu would be an encouraging sign for that process and for Nepal's longer-term ambition of carrying a bigger voice in the global game.

What happens next

Both outlets describe the same remaining step: resolving the few pending issues and making the official announcement. The date, the meeting's format and which ICC officials will travel to Kathmandu are still to be confirmed.

For fans, nothing changes for now — the tournament schedule stands, with the opener between defending champions Lumbini Lions and Sudurpaschim Royals on October 26 and the final on November 21. If the meeting is confirmed, the latter days of the tournament — the playoffs and the final at Kirtipur — could share the spotlight with one of the most important gatherings in the sport's governance.