Continental Joins Pokhara Avengers as Official Partner for Season 3

Pokhara Avengers have announced Continental as the franchise's official partner for Nepal Premier League Season 3, in a deal that puts the brand on the team's helmets and jerseys throughout the tournament.

The Partnership

Pokhara Avengers announced the agreement on Thursday, October 15, naming Continental as an official partner for the third edition of the Nepal Premier League. The announcement did not attach a narrower tier title — no presenting, title or associate label — and did not disclose a deal value, a term beyond the season, or the individuals who signed it.

The logic of the deal, as set out in the announcement, is reach. Large crowds are expected at TU Ground in Kirtipur, and the tournament is carried on television and digital platforms across Nepal and beyond, so the Continental name will be in front of that audience every time Pokhara take the field between October 26 and November 21.

The partnership is the latest piece of a deliberate commercial build at the franchise. Pokhara are also among the seven teams backed by Xtreme Energy Drink, whose Season 3 activation includes a dedicated team gate outside the Kirtipur ground. For a franchise that has yet to reach the playoffs, the off-field operation is being built with the same intent as the squad: bigger, more professional, and harder to ignore.

Where the Logo Will Appear

The branding placements are specific. Continental's logo will sit on the back of the helmets worn by Pokhara Avengers players and on the lower part of the non-playing arm of the team's jersey — the sleeve a batter's arm presents to the broadcast camera at the crease and a fielder carries through every over of the innings.

Helmet and sleeve positions are among the most televised real estate on a cricket kit. They appear in every close-up of a batter facing up, every wicket celebration and every slow-motion replay, which is precisely why partner brands bid for them. Pokhara play seven league matches in Season 3, each carried live, before any playoff appearance adds more.

Off the field, the agreement extends beyond the kit. Continental and the Avengers will collaborate on digital content production and fan engagement activities throughout the tournament, giving supporters additional ways to connect with the team during the five-week season.

A Squad Assembled to End the Playoff Drought

The partner arrives at a franchise that has rebuilt aggressively. Pokhara retained seven players, led by marquee man and captain Kushal Bhurtel, alongside Sagar Dhakal, Arjun Kumal, Bipin Khatri, Akash Chand, Kiran Thagunna and Dinesh Kharel. At the auction they added wicketkeeper Arjun Gharti for NPR 15 lakh, the squad's biggest domestic buy, plus Bibek Rana Magar, Sudip Aryal, Bipin Acharya, Pratik Pokharel and Sunny BK.

The overseas contingent is the headline. Bangladesh great Shakib Al Hasan signed as the marquee foreign player, Sri Lankan all-rounder Dhananjaya Lakshan was retained for a second straight season, and this month the franchise has added Chamika Karunaratne and Bangladesh off-spinner Mahedi Hasan to complete a four-man overseas group. Behind them, former Sri Lanka mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis has taken charge as head coach, has already arrived in Nepal, and has begun the training camp — including unconventional sessions for the spinners, blindfolds and all.

The context is a drought. The Avengers have failed to reach the playoffs in each of the league's first two seasons, the only storyline the franchise talks about escaping. A partner buying helmet space is betting that this is the year the cameras stay on Pokhara into the knockout week.

Pokhara's Season 3 Road

The campaign opens on October 28 against Sudurpaschim Royals — the two-time finalists — at Kirtipur, followed by league fixtures against Janakpur Bolts on November 1, Lumbini Lions on November 3, Chitwan Rhinos on November 6, Karnali Yaks on November 9, Biratnagar Kings on November 12 and Kathmandu Gorkhas on November 15. The full list is on the Season 3 schedule.

With a settled retained core, four overseas players, a World Cup-winning coach in the dugout and a fresh commercial partner on the helmets, Pokhara's Season 3 has a different weight to the franchise's first two attempts. The Avengers' supporters have heard promise before; the difference this year is the depth of the squad saying it.

Continental's investment will be judged the same way as every partner's in this league — by how long its team stays on television in November. Pokhara's season, and the logo on the back of their helmets, can be followed ball by ball on the live scores page from October 28.