NPL Music Turns TU Ground Into a Singing Stadium

The third season of the Nepal Premier League is being played to a soundtrack. Nepali pop and rap, evergreen film songs, folk-pop and Bhojpuri hits now roll across the TU Ground stands, plus two league songs and an anthem per franchise.

Music on the Season 3 matchday

The third season of the Nepal Premier League runs from October 26 to November 21, 2026, with every match at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. According to a Ratopati report published on November 1, the music echoing through the stands has become a talking point of the season, lifting players and spectators alike.

Ratopati’s playlist is deliberately broad: modern and pop songs next to rap and evergreen film numbers, with folk-pop giving the ground a Nepali flavour. The report names ‘Jhyal Bata Hera Tyahi Bato Aauchhu’, ‘Rupai Mohani’, ‘Lahanale Jhurayo’ and ‘Laizau Ghumouna Malai Thamel Bazar’, alongside VTEN tracks including ‘Simsime Pani’, ‘Dada Ahile Chilma Cha’, ‘Paisa’, ‘Gorkhe Khukuri’ and ‘Nasalu Timro Heraille’. Folk-pop numbers like ‘Chatta Rumal’, ‘Maya Ho Maya’ and ‘Pani Paryo Asina Jharyo’ are heard too, alongside the Bhojpuri hit ‘Lollipop Lagelu’ and ‘Gangnam Style’.

That range is the point. With the full schedule concentrated at one ground, the in-stadium experience is what ticket buyers take home, and music gives the crowd a shared rhythm to follow.

The LOD Zone sound

The music has an owner this season: LOD Club, the league’s entertainment partner. Makalu Khabar reported on October 26 that the club’s DJs play from the LOD Zone through the tournament. The agreement was signed on October 25 between LOD Club chief executive Rabin Shrestha and Cricket Association of Nepal secretary Paras Khadka, as reported in the site’s earlier coverage of the NPL Season 3 partner roster.

Shrestha told Ratopati the music brief is shared between the organisers and LOD, with no fixed playlist. His summary is disciplined rather than free-form: “We play songs keeping all aspects in mind, only within a certain limit and discipline.” Some picks are LOD’s own, he said; others follow organisers’ requests.

Shrestha explained the nightly choice works like a DJ reading a club: his team watches the atmosphere, the crowd’s enthusiasm and the state of the game, and picks the fitting song. A team’s anthem gets its turn when that team wins or plays well; otherwise the music follows the mood, aiming to energise the audience and heat up the environment.

Two official league songs

Beyond the matchday playlist, the organisers have released two official songs for the season, Ratopati reports. The first is the All Teams Anthem, with lyrics by Laxman Sharma, built around the slogan ‘Nepal’s Game, Nepal’s Train’. It represents all eight teams, themed on the growing craze for Nepali cricket and young supporters’ enthusiasm.

The second, ‘Maidanai Tharkaucha’, is framed around ‘Nepal’s Field, Nepali’s Pride’. Where the first speaks for the teams, this one ties the game to national pride, weaving in Nepali culture and tourist destinations. Together they give the league a shared sound belonging to no single franchise, a chorus the whole ground recognises.

Eight team anthems, eight local identities

Each franchise also has its own song, and Ratopati’s report lists all eight: Karnali Yaks have ‘Aayo Yaks Aayo’, drawing on Karnali’s geography, Rara Lake and heritage. Sudurpaschim Royals have ‘Sudur Ko Bagh Aayo’, naming Khaptad and Shuklaphanta, with the tiger as the team’s aggressive symbol.

Lumbini Lions have ‘Garjanchha Lumbini’, linking Buddha’s birthplace with Palpa’s Dhaka topi and Gulmi’s coffee. Chitwan Rhinos have the rap number ‘Hami Chitwan Ko Rhino’, celebrating Chitwan’s nature and youth passion. Biratnagar Kings have a rap song built on courage and hunger for victory.

Janakpur Bolts carry ‘Mithila Ko Shaan’, linking Janakpur’s heritage with modern cricket. Pokhara Avengers open with ‘Sil ko jhai uda, Gandaki ko shaan’, taking in Pokhara from Machhapuchhre to Phewa Lake. Kathmandu Gorkhas use Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath and Newari culture to stress unity, courage and determination.

Together the eight songs map the country the league claims to represent: every anthem names real places, not generic slogans, so supporters hear their own region from the speakers.

What the music means for the league

The playlist shows what kind of product the NPL is becoming. A franchise league sells an evening out, not just overs and wickets, and at a single venue that evening has to feel different from a night at home in front of a stream. Music is the cheapest way to make 20 overs feel like a festival, and a crowd feel like a community.

The anthems do heavier work than the chart hits: a song naming Rara Lake or Phewa Lake tells a supporter from that region that the franchise is theirs in a way a jersey badge cannot. That is why Khatiwada’s request stands out: his club has asked organisers to play Maithili and local music reflecting the region’s identity. As he put it, “When the audience hears songs from their own land, they feel more connected to the field.” For Khatiwada, a team anthem works like a national anthem in miniature, binding players and fans.

There is a balance to hold, and Shrestha’s emphasis on limits and discipline is the honest part of the story. Music that energises a crowd is part of the show; music that overwhelms the cricket would stop being entertainment and start being noise. So far the songs are adding to the spectacle rather than competing with it. As the points table tightens, anthems face louder tests: a team song means most after a win that matters.