Karnali Yaks Bank on Continuity and Overseas Talent for NPL Season 3

Nine players who have worn the Karnali shirt before return for the third edition, with Bangladesh and Pakistan signings adding fresh firepower under captain Sompal Kami.

A familiar core stays together

Karnali Yaks have chosen stability as their foundation for the third edition of the Nepal Premier League. According to an Online Khabar report published on October 24, the franchise has retained much of its core squad while adding players from Bangladesh and Pakistan, keeping nine players who have represented Karnali before.

Captain Sompal Kami remains the face of the franchise, alongside prominent domestic names such as Gulshan Jha and Nandan Yadav. Yunish Bikram Thakuri, who rose through the province's talent-hunt pathway, is also back, as are Pawan Sarraf, Deepak Dumre and Yuvraj Khatri — the trio that joined through the auction ahead of the second season. Dipendra Rawat, retained for the previous edition, has returned through the auction.

Bipin Sharma's story is the most telling of the lot. He first joined Karnali as the iconic player picked through the talent hunt, was retained for the second season, then released ahead of the third edition — only for the franchise to bring him back at the auction. That loyalty runs both ways: Karnali have backed domestic players who have grown with the team, and the players have kept coming back.

Bangladeshi and Pakistani reinforcements

The overseas contingent is where the franchise has gone bold. Online Khabar reports that Karnali have announced three overseas players so far — including two Bangladeshis — while also bringing in two Pakistanis, with Scottish spinner Mark Watt retained as well. The report adds that another high-profile overseas signing is still expected.

The Bangladesh arrivals are Akbar Ali and Ariful Islam. Akbar, a wicketkeeper-batter, captained Bangladesh's Under-19 team to the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup title in 2020 and is expected to contribute as both a batter and a gloveman. His deputy in the youth ranks, 21-year-old Ariful Islam, is set for his first overseas franchise stint after an eye-catching run for Bangladesh High Performance — 219 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 138.60 in Australia's Top End T20, according to the Daily Sun and Cricfrenzy, with a full-season NOC from the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

From Pakistan come all-rounder Hussain Talat and established international Sahibzada Farhan, both of whom have already been have already been covered in detail in our earlier reports — see the Talat signing and the Farhan deal for their full profiles.

New faces and a coaching change

Beyond the overseas names, the franchise has added domestic batting depth in the shape of Shubha Kansakar, spinner Surya Tamang and local players Diwan Pun and Sachin Sharma — the latter returning after developing his cricket in the United Kingdom. Arjun Gharti, who featured in earlier squads, has been released.

There is also change in the dugout. Gyanendra Malla, who served as head coach for the first two seasons, has moved into the role of cricket director, taking on broader responsibilities across the franchise's cricket operations. It is a promotion rather than a departure, and it keeps one of Nepal's most respected cricket minds at the heart of the Yaks' project.

The road back to the playoffs

The overhaul is a response to underachievement. Karnali finished fourth in the inaugural edition to reach the playoffs but dropped to sixth in the second season, missing out on the knockout stage. The franchise has never lacked star power — it made headlines in season one by signing India's Shikhar Dhawan, and Watt boosted its profile in season two by scoring the tournament's fastest century — but consistency has eluded it.

The balance of the squad suggests they are trying to fix that. Watt leads the spin attack with support from Surya Tamang, Bipin Sharma, Yunish Bikram Thakuri, Dipendra Rawat and Pawan Sarraf, while the pace options — captain Kami, Nandan Yadav and Gulshan Jha — mix experience with all-round ability. The overseas additions provide batting options across the top and middle orders. If the familiar core clicks and the new arrivals adapt, Karnali have every reason to believe they can climb back into the NPL points table top four when the season 3 fixtures begin, with tickets already on sale for the new campaign.