ICC Sanctions NPL Season 3, Grants Official T20 Status

All matches of the third Nepal Premier League will carry official Twenty20 status after the ICC's sanction, meaning every run and wicket at Kirtipur from October 26 will count towards players' career statistics.

Official status for the third season

The International Cricket Council has officially sanctioned the third season of the Nepal Premier League, recognising all matches as List A T20 fixtures. The significance goes beyond formal recognition: runs and wickets recorded during the October 26 to November 21 tournament will count towards players' official career statistics, raising the profile of Nepali cricket overnight.

CAN secretary Paras Khadka announced the development at a press conference at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground, confirming that the ICC had sent the no-objection certificate in response to CAN's application. Crucially, the sanction applies to the third season only rather than automatically covering future editions — the board will need to earn it again.

For a league organised and managed by CAN, the recognition places its matches within the recognised framework of limited-overs cricket and marks a genuine milestone for the country's cricketing structure.

A recruitment game-changer

The absence of official status had made it harder for franchises to recruit active international players, particularly those from Test-playing nations, with CAN managing overseas recruitment through a quota system. The sanction removes that obstacle — and this season's signings show it. Kathmandu Gorkhas have landed former Australia captain David Warner, Biratnagar Kings have recruited West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, Pokhara Avengers have signed Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, and Karnali Yaks have secured South Africa's David Miller, as reported this week.

The trend began with India's Shikhar Dhawan in the first edition and South Africa's Faf du Plessis in the second; official status should accelerate it. Karnali Yaks chairman Grihendra Ghimire said the franchise signed Miller, Sahibzada Farhan and Hussain Talat in direct response to supporters' expectations — and argued the arrivals would promote not just the Yaks but Nepal's tourism through the NPL. With the title the stated target in Kirtipur, the sanction has turned recruitment into an arms race. With the season schedule now carrying the weight of official statistics, every innings in Kirtipur matters a little more.

New rules for overseas players

The sanction comes with a detailed regulatory framework. Where the previous edition allowed four to six overseas players per franchise, CAN requested permission for six to eight — and the ICC granted it. The regulations still require each squad to include at least seven Nepali players, keeping opportunities open for domestic cricketers alongside the international stars.

Khadka put it plainly: the board had asked the ICC for permission to sign six to eight players, and the request was granted. The playing XI can include no more than four foreign players and must feature at least one player from an ICC Associate member nation. All overseas players, including retired cricketers, must obtain a no-objection certificate from their respective boards, and anyone who has participated in an unauthorised private league in the six months before the NPL will be ineligible to play.

Integrity measures and the road ahead

Anti-corruption measures form another major component of the ICC's regulations. The ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit will monitor venues, dressing rooms and teams, backed by the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code — a significant safeguard in a country that has yet to formulate its own comprehensive anti-corruption regulations for cricket.

The sanction is a step-change in the league's professionalisation. With review technology arriving, the stadium upgraded and the points table race about to begin, the third season is shaping up as the most serious NPL yet, and the opening match on October 26 will be the first fixture in the league's history played with official status — and the live scores hub will track every officially recognised run of it.