Karnali Yaks have officially announced the list of retained players for the upcoming Nepal Premier League (NPL) 2025. The franchise has kept national star Sompal Kami as the marquee player along with six others.
The retained players include Gulshan Jha, Nandan Yadav, Arjun Gharti, Dipendra Rawat, Bipin Prasad Sharma, and Unish Bikram Singh Thakuri. These players are expected to play key roles in strengthening the team’s core for the second season.
Earlier, on Monday, Karnali Yaks had confirmed that Sompal Kami would continue as their marquee player. He remains the only Nepali cricketer to have played in both T20 World Cups and had led Karnali Yaks to the playoffs in the first season. He also picked up 9 wickets in 9 matches last year.
However, the team had to release five players — Dev Khanal, Bhuvan Karki, Mousom Dhakal, Rit Gautam, and Deepak Prasad Dumre — due to NPL’s retention policy that allows each team to keep only six players in addition to the marquee.
Karnali Yaks had grabbed headlines in the first edition by signing former Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, and the team is looking to repeat that success this year as well. Grihendra Ghimire, director of Karnali Yaks Sports Pvt. Ltd., said that the team aims to bring in another big name to promote both tourism and cricket in Nepal.
He said, “Shikhar Dhawan’s arrival last season boosted our team and created a buzz for Nepali cricket. This year too, we are planning to sign another popular player to help strengthen the team and support tourism.”
The mini auction for NPL 2025 is scheduled for August, and other teams like Lumbini Lions, Kathmandu Gorkhas, and Pokhara Avengers have already released their retention lists.
