Pokhara AvengersArjun Gharti is a Nepal wicketkeeper-batter who will represent Pokhara Avengers in NPL Season 3 after joining at the July 6, 2026 auction for NPR 15 lakh. That made him the franchise's most expensive domestic signing and absorbed more than half of its NPR 26.75 lakh auction spend, a clear statement that the wicketkeeping slot was the rebuild's top priority. He is the only specialist wicketkeeper in Pokhara's fifteen-player squad, which makes his place in every XI close to automatic.
In the Nepal Premier League 2026, Gharti's gloves and middle-order batting give captain Kushal Bhurtel a settled keeper behind the stumps. Under new head coach Ajantha Mendis, the rebuild starts with the basics, and Gharti is that foundation.
About Arjun Gharti
Arjun Gharti arrived at Pokhara Avengers as the most expensive domestic signing of their July 6, 2026 auction — NPR 15 lakh, more than half of the franchise's entire NPR 26.75 lakh auction spend. That is not a squad-filler price; it is a statement of intent from a club that had decided its wicketkeeping slot was the single biggest domestic upgrade available. Gharti, a wicketkeeper-batter, was the answer.
He is also the only specialist wicketkeeper in Pokhara's fifteen-player squad, which makes his selection close to automatic: every XI the franchise names for Season 3 will be built around his gloves. For a side that has missed the playoffs twice and rebuilt under new head coach Ajantha Mendis and captain Kushal Bhurtel, spending the headline cheque on a gloveman says the rebuild starts with the basics — catches taken, stumpings completed, and a keeper who bats.
Player details
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Arjun Gharti |
| Country | Nepal |
| Playing role | Wicketkeeper |
| Batting style | Not specified in verified reports |
| NPL Season 3 auction fee | NPR 15 lakh |
Playing style and strengths
Gharti's primary currency is his glovework. In T20 cricket a keeper's mistakes are the most expensive on the field — a missed stumping off Shakib Al Hasan's left-arm spin or Sagar Dhakal's finger-spin at Kirtipur can swing a whole innings — so Pokhara paying NPR 15 lakh for the position tells you what the franchise believes he delivers: clean takes against spin standing up, sharp work against the quicker bowlers, and the concentration to stay switched on through twenty overs. His batting style is not specified in verified reports, but the wicketkeeper-batter label places him in the modern mould: a keeper picked partly for the runs he can add.
The technical test waiting for him is Kirtipur itself. With Shakib and Dhakal likely to bowl long spin spells at home, Gharti will spend much of the tournament standing up to the stumps — the hardest keeping discipline, where footwork, soft hands and anticipation matter more than pure athleticism. His strength has to be completeness: no weak phase with the gloves, and enough batting to justify a middle-order slot. The price tag demands both.
Arjun Gharti's role at Pokhara Avengers in Season 3
Arjun Gharti's role at Pokhara Avengers in Season 3 is the most clearly defined of any domestic player: first-choice wicketkeeper, every match he is fit for. Because he is the only specialist gloveman in the squad, there is no rotation debate — Bhurtel and Mendis build the XI outward from his name, and his presence frees the franchise from spending an overseas slot on keeping cover. That structural value is exactly why the NPR 15 lakh made sense.
With the bat, he is the natural finisher of the middle order: the keeper who walks in after the marquee names — Bhurtel, Shakib, Dhananjaya Lakshan — have set the platform, and is expected to close innings rather than build them. His season will be measured in two columns: dismissals, where anything below excellent will invite questions about the auction's headline spend, and strike rate, where a keeper-batter in 2026 has to score quickly or not at all. If he delivers both, Pokhara's biggest cheque becomes its best value.
Arjun Gharti at NPL 2026
Season-by-season Nepal Premier League figures for Arjun Gharti.
| Season | Team | Matches | Runs | HS | Avg | Wkts | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPL 2024 (Season 1) | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available |
| NPL 2025 (Season 2) | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available |
| NPL 2026 (Season 3) | Pokhara Avengers | Season not yet played | — | — | — | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which NPL team does Arjun Gharti play for?
Arjun Gharti plays for Pokhara Avengers in NPL Season 3 (2026).
What was Arjun Gharti's auction price?
NPR 15 lakh at the July 6, 2026 auction — Pokhara's most expensive domestic buy, more than five times the next highest domestic price.
What is Arjun Gharti's role?
Wicketkeeper. He is the only specialist keeper in Pokhara's 15-player squad.
Is Arjun Gharti Pokhara's first-choice keeper?
Yes. As the only specialist wicket-keeper in the squad and the franchise's biggest domestic buy, he starts every game he is available for, barring injury or a dramatic loss of form.
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