Chitwan RhinosRijan Dhakal is a Nepal domestic cricketer who will represent Chitwan Rhinos in NPL Season 3. He was a premium domestic pick in the 2024 auction, bought for NPR 10 lakh in Category B alongside Kamal Singh Airee, and retained for 2025 and Season 3. His playing role is not specified in the public record, but the spending is the scouting report: a first-XI contributor the Rhinos consider difficult to replace. You do not retain a 10-lakh domestic twice on sentiment.
With six auction arrivals chasing XI places, his brief is to turn continuity into indispensability. In the Nepal Premier League 2026, he is the known quantity the captain can pencil in while the combinations around him get complicated.
About Rijan Dhakal
Rijan Dhakal was one of Chitwan's premium domestic picks at the inaugural 2024 auction, bought for NPR 10 lakh in Category B alongside Kamal Singh Airee. The franchise has retained him twice since — for 2025 and for Season 3 — a run of three consecutive squad-building exercises reaching the same conclusion. The public record does not specify his role or styles; the franchise's spending describes a first-XI contributor it considers difficult to replace.
NPR 10 lakh was premium-domestic money at the inaugural 2024 auction — the same bracket as Airee's capture — and the franchise has now reached the same conclusion three times: bought in 2024, retained for 2025, retained again for Season 3. The spending is the scouting report: a first-XI contributor the Rhinos consider difficult to replace. You do not retain a 10-lakh domestic twice on sentiment.
Playing style and strengths
With no listed role in the verified record, the honest read of Rijan Dhakal's game starts with the price tag. Ten lakh in Category B was the franchise's premium domestic bracket in 2024 — the money you spend on a player you expect in the XI, not the squad. Two retentions since have confirmed the expectation: whatever his discipline, the Rhinos' decision-makers have watched him for two full campaigns and concluded the team is weaker without him. In a sixteen-player squad with three overseas signings, that verdict carries weight.
The role-based inference is the established domestic contributor: the player whose game is complete enough that the coaches do not need to develop it, only deploy it. Whether the discipline is batting, bowling or both, the selection logic is the same — a known quantity the captain can pencil in while the auction arrivals audition around him. His Season 3 task is to make the third consecutive verdict look as obvious as the first two.
Rijan Dhakal's role at Chitwan Rhinos in Season 3
Rijan's Season 3 role is the retained premium domestic in a squad that just spent bigger at the auction. Bibek Kumar Yadav's 15-lakh capture and Dev Khanal's retained 15-lakh value now sit above his 10-lakh bracket — the premium-domestic conversation has new voices. His edge is the one money cannot buy at an auction: three seasons of Rhinos cricket, two campaigns of league conditions, and a captain in Kushal Malla who has never known a Chitwan squad without him.
In the seven-man retained domestic core — Malla, Bohara, Airee, Khanal, Ranjeet Kumar, Arjun Saud and Rijan — he is the quiet constant, the name that survives every rebuild without a headline. With six auction arrivals pushing for XI places, his Season 3 brief is to turn continuity into indispensability: the player Malla picks first when the combination gets complicated.
Player details
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rijan Dhakal |
| Birthplace | Hetauda, Nepal |
| Country | Nepal |
| Batting style | Right-hand bat |
| Bowling style | Left-arm medium |
Rijan Dhakal at NPL 2026
Season-by-season NPL figures for Rijan Dhakal.
| Season | Team | Matches | Runs | HS | Avg | Wkts | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPL 2024 (Season 1) | Chitwan Rhinos | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available |
| NPL 2025 (Season 2) | Chitwan Rhinos | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available | Not publicly available |
| NPL 2026 (Season 3) | Chitwan Rhinos | Season not yet played | — | — | — | — | — |
Records & achievements
- Bought for NPR 10 lakh in Category B at the inaugural 2024 auction
- Retained for 2025 and Season 3 — three consecutive squad-building exercises, same conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions
Which team does Rijan Dhakal play for in NPL Season 3?
Rijan Dhakal plays for Chitwan Rhinos in NPL Season 3.
Was Rijan Dhakal retained or bought at the auction?
He was retained — protected from the July 6, 2026 auction pool.
What did Chitwan pay for Rijan Dhakal?
NPR 10 lakh in Category B at the inaugural 2024 auction.
What is Rijan Dhakal's playing role?
His playing role is not specified in verified public reports.
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