Shree Airlines Named Sudurpaschim Royals' Domestic Airline Partner

Sudurpaschim Royals have signed Shree Airlines as their domestic airline partner for Nepal Premier League Season 3, with the carrier supporting the domestic air travel of the Royals' players and team management throughout the tournament.

The Deal

Sudurpaschim Royals announced the partnership on October 7, confirming Shree Airlines as the franchise's domestic airline partner for the third edition of the Nepal Premier League. Under the agreement, the airline will support and facilitate the domestic air travel of Royals players and team management for the whole season, an arrangement formally sealed at a memorandum-of-understanding signing ceremony.

Speaking for the airline, corporate director Anil Manandhar described it as a matter of pride for Shree Airlines to collaborate with Sudurpaschim Royals and contribute to the development of Nepali cricket. Royals chief executive Prakash Khadka said the partnership would create a more comfortable environment for the team, stressing that with the league's busy schedule, smooth and organised travel for players and management is very important, and that the airline's support is expected to make that travel easier.

No financial value or term beyond the season was released with the announcement, which follows the pattern of most franchise partnerships in the league: the support is practical and in-kind, moving a squad of players, coaches and staff around a country where the far west — the region the Royals represent — sits a long domestic flight from the capital.

Why Travel Matters This Season

Every one of Season 3's 32 matches will be played at a single venue, the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, between October 26 and November 21. For a franchise based in Nepal's far west, that means relocating the entire operation — players, coaching staff, analysts and kit — to Kathmandu for five weeks, and getting everyone there fresh, together and on schedule.

The Royals' build-up has already involved serious travel. The squad has held its preparations away from home, and the franchise's new head coach, Pakistan great Misbah-ul-Haq, must knit a settled group together in a short window before the opener. A dedicated airline partner removes one of the quiet logistical headaches of a long tournament: rebooking, baggage and connections for a travelling party of more than twenty people.

It is the kind of unglamorous detail that separates professional operations from amateur ones. Sudurpaschim have reached the final in both of the league's first two seasons, and the franchise's off-field structure is being built to the same standard as its cricket — few details are being left to chance this year.

A Commercial Stack Behind the Royals

Shree Airlines is one of several partners the Royals have locked in for Season 3. Ather Nepal has come on board as a travel partner with a fan promotion attached: one lucky Royals supporter will win an Ather electric scooter during the season. Announcing that deal, chief executive Prakash Khadka said the partnership with Ather "will not only make our journey smoother but also add to the excitement of connecting fans with the team", and called the scooter giveaway a historic first in Nepali sports.

The franchise has also renewed its agreement with Marvel Technoplast, which continues as an Excellence Partner for a second year. Together with the airline deal, the pattern is clear: the Royals are monetising their status as the league's most consistent team — two league-table-topping campaigns and two finals — by building a portfolio of national brands around the squad.

The cricket leadership matches the commercial ambition. Misbah-ul-Haq, appointed head coach for Season 3 in place of Jagat Tamata, said on his appointment: "I am very excited to be joining the Sudurpaschim Royals as the head coach for the upcoming season. I have heard a lot about the passion for cricket in Nepal." A World Cup-winning captain's experience now guides a dressing room that already knows how to reach finals.

Third Time Lucky?

For all their consistency, the Royals are still chasing a first title. They topped the league table in both previous editions, then lost the 2024 final to Janakpur Bolts and the 2025 final to Lumbini Lions, when they were bowled out for 85 — the two most painful defeats in the young league's history, both suffered by the same core of players.

That core remains. Captain Dipendra Singh Airee leads a retained group that includes Binod Bhandari, Aarif Sheikh, Ishan Pandey, Abinash Bohara, Hemant Dhami and Hikmat Mahara, a unit that has played two full campaigns together. Season 3 opens with a rematch of last year's final: the Royals face Lumbini Lions in the tournament opener on October 26 at 5:00 PM in Kirtipur, the first match of the Season 3 schedule.

An airline partner will not win the Royals a trophy. But a franchise that flies its players in comfort, keeps its commercial house in order and retains the league's most settled squad is doing everything around the cricket right. The rest, as two finals have taught them, has to be settled on the field — ball by ball on the live scores page from October 26.