NPL Season 3 Match Timings Revised as Evening Starts Move to 5:00 PM

The Cricket Association of Nepal has revised the start times for the third season of the Nepal Premier League, moving every evening fixture thirty minutes later to 5:00 PM NST. The change, announced on 20 October alongside the Decision Review System package, replaces the 4:30 PM evening starts in the original schedule and takes effect from the opening match on 26 October.

Evening starts move from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM

The revision rewrites the daily rhythm of the tournament without touching its shape. The season still runs from 26 October to 21 November at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, the eight teams still meet once each in a single round-robin league, and the rest days on 30 October and 4, 8 and 11 November stay where they were. What changes is the clock: 21 of the 32 fixtures, every game that was listed as a 4:30 PM start, now begin at 5:00 PM instead.

The opening match is the first fixture affected. Defending champions Lumbini Lions meet Sudurpaschim Royals on Monday, 26 October, and the first ball will now be bowled at 5:00 PM rather than in the late-afternoon slot the original fixture release advertised. The grand final on Saturday, 21 November is also a 5:00 PM start.

The revised pattern across double-headers and playoffs

On the eleven double-header days, the pattern is unchanged in the morning and new in the evening. The first match keeps its 12:30 PM start, a slot that has been part of the NPL schedule since the fixture list was released in September. The second match, previously the 4:30 PM game, now starts at 5:00 PM, which gives the venue a slightly longer turnaround between fixtures and pushes the whole second game under floodlights.

Single-header days follow the evening rule as well. Every day with one match on the card, including the playoff days, is now a 5:00 PM start. Qualifier 1 on 17 November, the Eliminator on 18 November and Qualifier 2 on 19 November were all single fixtures listed at 4:30 PM in the original schedule; under the revision they begin at 5:00 PM, as does the final.

The first week shows the pattern clearly. After the 5:00 PM opener on 26 October, the evening slot hosts Karnali Yaks against Janakpur Bolts on 27 October, Pokhara Avengers against Sudurpaschim Royals on 28 October and Karnali against Biratnagar Kings on 29 October, all following 12:30 PM day games at the same venue. The first single-header day of the season, 31 October, when Sudurpaschim Royals play Biratnagar Kings, is also a 5:00 PM start.

Announced with the DRS package

The new timings arrived in the same announcement round as the tournament's technology upgrade. On 20 October, CAN confirmed that the Decision Review System will operate in every match of Season 3, with 3D ball tracking and AI-based edge detection, and the governing body issued the revised match schedule at the same time. CAN did not publish a separate explanation for the timing shift, and none of the reports announcing the change attribute a specific reason to the board.

What is clear is the combined effect. A 5:00 PM start means evening fixtures are played almost entirely under lights, the conditions the broadcast production, now built around Hawk-Eye ball tracking, is designed for. Afternoon fixtures on double-header days keep the natural-light window at 12:30 PM.

The review system itself is the most complete Nepali domestic cricket has used: full 3D ball tracking for leg-before-wicket decisions, artificial intelligence-based edge detection for catches behind, and camera reviews for run-outs, stumpings and front-foot no-balls. Both announcements landed five days before the first match, giving the eight franchises a single, final version of the playing conditions and the clock to prepare against.

What the new timings mean for fans

For supporters, the practical change is small but worth planning around. Fans travelling to Kirtipur after work or school get an extra half hour, and the second match of a double-header will now finish deeper into the evening, so return journeys from the TU Ground will run later than originally advertised. Anyone who set reminders from the September fixture list should update them: a 4:30 PM note is now thirty minutes early.

Broadcast viewers get the same shift. Evening matches will be shown live on NetTV, which holds the worldwide OTT rights, and on Himalaya Television in Nepal, with play now starting at 5:00 PM NST. Ticket sale dates and prices for Season 3 were still to be announced by eSewa at the time of the revision, so no ticket holder is affected by the change; when sales open, the listings will carry the new times.

Supporters following from outside Nepal should note the start in their own time zones as well: a 5:00 PM start in Kathmandu is 4:45 PM in Delhi, 11:15 AM in London and 7:15 AM on the US east coast, thirty minutes later than the originally advertised slot in every market.

Key fixtures under the revised times

The fixtures most affected are the ones fans plan furthest ahead for. The season opener on 26 October (Lumbini Lions vs Sudurpaschim Royals) starts at 5:00 PM. The league stage closes on 15 November with a double-header, Chitwan Rhinos against Karnali Yaks at 12:30 PM before Pokhara Avengers meet Kathmandu Gorkhas at 5:00 PM. The four playoff fixtures, from Qualifier 1 on 17 November to the final on 21 November, are all 5:00 PM starts.

The full updated fixture list, with every match at its revised time, is on the NPL Season 3 schedule page, and each fixture's match page has been updated to the new start time as well.