Pokhara Avengers Sign Bangladesh All-Rounder Mahedi Hasan

Pokhara Avengers have signed Bangladesh all-rounder Mahedi Hasan for Nepal Premier League Season 3, adding the ICC's eighth-ranked T20I bowler to a squad already built around his compatriot Shakib Al Hasan.

The Signing

Pokhara Avengers confirmed the signing on their official social media on Wednesday, five days before Season 3 opens in Kirtipur. "Coming soon! Mahedi Hasan has arrived! Bangladesh's dynamic all-rounder and the ICC T20I-ranked number eight bowler is ready to work his magic in Avengers colours in the NPL," the franchise wrote, adding: "Welcome to the Pokhara Avengers family, Mahedi!"

Mahedi becomes the second Bangladeshi all-rounder in the Pokhara squad, joining Shakib Al Hasan — the franchise's marquee overseas signing — and continues this season's Bangladeshi thread through the league, with Akbar Ali also secured by Karnali Yaks. No transfer fee or contract length accompanied the announcement.

The move completes Pokhara's overseas group. Mahedi's right-arm off-spin and lower-order hitting now sit alongside Shakib, Sri Lankan pair Dhananjaya Lakshan and Chamika Karunaratne, giving captain Kushal Bhurtel four international options for the four overseas places in a playing XI — and giving head coach Ajantha Mendis, himself a spinner of mystery and guile, a spin department built in his own image.

The Bowler Pokhara Are Getting

Mahedi Hasan, 31, was born in Khulna and has been part of Bangladesh's white-ball sides since his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in February 2018; his ODI debut followed against New Zealand in March 2021. A right-handed batter who bowls right-arm off-break, he has built his reputation as a new-ball and powerplay spinner who can also finish an innings with the bat.

His T20I record underlines why the franchise led with his ranking. In 78 matches he has taken 78 wickets, with best figures of 4/11 against Sri Lanka, at an average of 23.69 and an economy rate of 6.77, alongside 494 runs and 26 catches. The ICC's T20I bowling rankings place him eighth in the world. In one-day internationals he has 15 wickets in 12 matches, with a best of 4/71 against England.

He has also been trusted on the biggest stages: named in Bangladesh's squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup, he took eight wickets in seven innings at 18.75 apiece, and he was selected again for the 2024 edition. At Kirtipur, where spin plays a growing role as the tournament wears on, a powerplay off-spinner of that pedigree is a genuine tactical weapon.

A First Trip Abroad — and a Familiar Country

For all his experience, this is new territory for Mahedi. He has played for six different teams in the Bangladesh Premier League — Barisal Bulls, Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Platoon, Khulna Tigers, Rangpur Riders and Chattogram Royals — but the Nepal Premier League will be his first overseas franchise league, a milestone the signing reports were quick to note.

Nepal itself is not unfamiliar. Mahedi was in the Bangladesh squad for the cricket tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games, held in Kathmandu and Pokhara, where Bangladesh won the gold medal by beating Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the final. He returns six years later to the city of Pokhara as a franchise player — this time wearing the Avengers' colours rather than visiting them.

That combination — an experienced international, hungry in a first foreign league, returning to a country where he has already won a medal — is exactly the profile franchises chase in the final week before a season. Pokhara's supporters will get their first look when the Avengers open against Sudurpaschim Royals on October 28.

Shakib for the Full Season, Too

The Mahedi announcement was followed within hours by a second piece of Pokhara news: Shakib Al Hasan has confirmed that he will be available for the entire tournament and will join the squad on October 25, the day before the season opener against Lumbini Lions. Availability has been the standing question over Pokhara's marquee man since his signing was announced; the answer, confirmed by the player, removes the biggest uncertainty in the Avengers' planning.

With both Bangladeshis committed, Pokhara's Season 3 picture is complete: Bhurtel's retained domestic core, four overseas players in Shakib, Mahedi, Lakshan and Karunaratne, and Ajantha Mendis running a training camp that has already drawn attention for its unconventional spin sessions. The target is no longer a secret — the Avengers have missed the playoffs in both of the league's first two seasons and have recruited, at home and abroad, specifically to end that run.

The full Season 3 schedule gives Pokhara seven league matches to make the top four, starting against the two-time finalists on October 28. Their campaign, and Mahedi's first steps in franchise cricket outside Bangladesh, can be followed ball by ball on the live scores page.