NPL Ticket Refunds in Focus After Saturday Washout

Fans who paid to watch Saturday's Nepal Premier League cricket at Kirtipur are waiting on a refund decision, after the day's first match was washed out and the evening fixture was left in doubt.

Refund Demands After the Washout

The ticket question arrived almost as soon as the cricket disappeared. Lumbini Lions and Chitwan Rhinos were due to open Saturday's double-header at 12:30 PM at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kirtipur, but persistent rain had left the outfield waterlogged and officials called the game off without even holding the toss. Supporters who had travelled to the ground, or bought tickets in advance, were left with no cricket to watch and no announcement yet on whether their money would come back.

CAN vice-president Roshan Singh has now addressed those supporters directly. Responding to calls for refunds after the cancellation, he acknowledged that the demands of spectators who could not watch the matches were justified, and said the organisers should make an appropriate decision on the ticket issue. That is an important distinction: it is a recognition that fans have a fair case, not yet a refund policy. Until CAN or its ticketing partner announces the terms, ticket holders should keep their booking proof and watch for an official notice rather than assuming a refund is automatic.

Reporting ahead of Saturday's matches had said ticketing partner eSewa would refund spectators if a match is called off before the toss. That has not been confirmed in a fresh CAN or eSewa announcement tied to Saturday's abandonment, so it should be treated as the previously reported position, not as the decision for this washout.

Ground Staff Race Against Water at Kirtipur

Singh's comments also laid bare why the ground could not be saved in time. He said efforts to drain water had been underway since early morning, but the problem worsened after a large volume of water flowed into the ground from outside. He said: “The problem arose after a large volume of water entered the ground from outside. Drainage channels were also blocked during construction, making it difficult to drain the water. We have been working since early morning to clear the water. However, continuous rainfall has made it challenging to prepare the ground for play.”

Ground staff used an excavator to clear an obstruction near Gate No. 3, dug a pit to create an outlet for water inside the ground, and prepared to use five to six water pumps, with a super sucker machine also requested from Mulpani and elsewhere. Even so, Singh said the ground's layout and the continuous inflow of water from outside made drying exceptionally difficult, and the situation would not improve even with draining equipment if water kept flowing in.

This was not a brief shower interrupting a playable ground: rain that began late on Thursday night continued through Friday and into Saturday morning, and water arriving from beyond the boundary compounded the rainfall on the outfield. A fuller account of the problem is covered in our report on the TU Ground drainage.

Evening Fixture and Sunday Match 9 Under Threat

The refund question does not end with Match 7. The second match of the day, between Sudurpaschim Royals and Biratnagar Kings, was scheduled for 5 PM on the same ground, with a cut-off time of 7:41 PM, and it was also reported as unlikely to go ahead. At the time of writing no official decision on the evening fixture had been reported, which leaves a second set of ticket holders in the same limbo: they may yet see a shortened game, or they may join the Match 7 crowd in asking for their money back.

Sunday brings the same uncertainty to a new set of fans. Janakpur Bolts are due to face Pokhara Avengers in Match 9, and Singh warned that holding tomorrow's match could also become difficult if rainfall continued through Saturday and into the night. His assessment of the timetable was blunt: “It will be very difficult to hold today's match. The chances are also slim. If the weather clears and we get five to seven hours, we can try to prepare the ground for tomorrow's match.” Five to seven clear, dry hours is a demanding ask after three days of rain.

The full schedule still lists the remaining fixtures as planned, and the NPL has no reserve days, so an abandoned match is not replayed and both teams simply take one point each, as our report on the Match 7 abandonment explains. That rule is why a washout also reshapes the points table without a ball being bowled.

Refund Stakes for Fans and the League

Here is where the refund decision becomes bigger than one Saturday. The NPL has spent this season building a paying crowd at Kirtipur, and earlier in the tournament tickets sold out while sections of the stands still sat empty, a contradiction that already frustrated supporters. A washout handled badly, with vague or slow refund instructions, risks turning a weather problem into a trust problem: fans who lose money on a cancelled match are less likely to buy early for the next one.

Handled well, the opposite is true. A prompt, clearly communicated refund or credit for abandoned matches would show that the league values the supporters who travelled through rain to a ground that never opened for play. Singh's acknowledgement gives CAN a foundation to build on, but only a published procedure, naming who qualifies, how to claim and how long it takes, will settle the question. Supporters holding tickets for Saturday's evening fixture or Sunday's Match 9 should check official CAN and eSewa channels before travelling, and keep their tickets and payment records until a decision is announced.

The honest position, for now, is uncomfortable but simple. One match is gone, a second is in doubt, a third needs five to seven dry hours that the sky has not yet offered, and the fans' case for refunds has been called justified by CAN's own vice-president. What remains is the decision itself, and until it arrives, do not travel on hope alone, do not discard your ticket, and do not treat a reported policy as a confirmed refund until the organisers say so in their own words.