Tharindu Rathnayake Joins Sudurpaschim Royals for NPL

Sri Lanka all-rounder Tharindu Rathnayake has signed for Sudurpaschim Royals for Nepal Premier League Season 3, adding one of world cricket's rarest skills — bowling spin with either arm — to the two-time runners-up as the tournament unfolds at TU Ground in Kirtipur.

Tharindu Rathnayake signs for Sudurpaschim Royals

Sri Lanka all-rounder Tharindu Rathnayake will play for Sudurpaschim Royals in the third edition of the Nepal Premier League, OnlineKhabar reported on October 28. The 30-year-old is a left-handed batter who can bowl right-arm off-spin and left-arm spin, a combination that makes him one of the most unusual spin options in the tournament.

The announcement came two days after the Royals opened their season with a defeat against Lumbini Lions on October 26, so the signing lands at a moment when the far-western franchise will be looking for fresh answers. The report does not name a debut date for Rathnayake, and it does not say which player, if any, he replaces in the squad.

What the Royals have added is flexibility. A spinner who can bowl with either arm gives the captain a different angle and a different turn direction without using up another bowling option, and a left-handed batter deepens the batting order at the same time. In a short tournament played at one main ground, that kind of two-in-one value can matter more than a single-skill signing.

Ambidextrous spin and a place in the record books

Rathnayake is best known for bowling with both arms, and the feat has already put him in the record books twice. In the Asian Games semi-final against India on October 1, 2026, he became the first bowler to take wickets with both arms in a T20 international, dismissing Sanju Samson with left-arm orthodox spin and Shivam Dube with right-arm off-spin on his way to figures of 2 for 32.

He had done something similar on his Test debut against Bangladesh at Galle in June 2025, when he became the first bowler to take wickets with both arms in a Test match. That history explains why the signing has drawn attention beyond Nepal: very few bowlers in world cricket can genuinely switch arms during an innings.

For opposing batters, the challenge is preparation. A right-handed batter facing left-arm orthodox spin and a left-handed batter facing right-arm off-spin are dealing with the ball turning in different directions, and Rathnayake can present either problem without the fielding side changing its bowler. At TU Ground, where spinners often decide tight games, that unpredictability is a genuine tactical weapon rather than a novelty.

Rathnayake career numbers across formats

At international level, Rathnayake has played four T20 internationals for Sri Lanka, taking six wickets and scoring 77 runs, with a highest score of 65. Those are early international numbers, but his record in domestic and other T20 tournaments is far deeper: 88 matches, 98 wickets at a best of 4 for 8, and 638 runs with the bat.

His longer-format record underlines how much bowling workload he has carried. In 82 first-class matches he has taken 378 wickets and scored 1,923 runs, while in 96 List A matches he has 133 wickets and 952 runs. That is the profile of a bowler teams trust with long spells, not a part-time option.

The batting matters too. A left-hander with close to a thousand List A runs and more than 600 T20 runs is not in the side for his bowling alone, and the Royals can use him as genuine batting depth rather than a tail-ender who bowls. The balance of his numbers — wickets in the hundreds across formats, runs in the hundreds in each white-ball format — is what makes him an all-rounder in the true sense.

Sudurpaschim Royals overseas options and title chase

Under captain Dipendra Singh Airee, the Royals already have a strong overseas group. Saif Ali Zaib, Scott Kuggeleijn and Brandon McMullen were part of the pre-season overseas core, and the franchise has since added West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford and West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen. Rathnayake adds a spin-bowling point of difference to a group built mostly around pace and power hitting.

The context is a franchise still chasing a first title. The Royals finished as runners-up in both previous editions, winning six of their seven league-stage matches in each season before falling in the final, first to Janakpur Bolts and then to Lumbini Lions. A signing like this is therefore not about rebuilding a settled side; it is about finding one more edge in the games that decide a final.

From here, the Royals' route through the season can be followed on the NPL Season 3 schedule, with the points table tracking the race for the top four. Fans can follow live scores through the tournament, and ticket details are available for supporters planning a trip to Kirtipur. If Rathnayake's two-arm spin translates to wickets at TU Ground, this mid-tournament addition could prove to be one of the shrewdest of the season.