NPL 2026 overseas players: every team's foreign signings, and why they can't sign more

Twelve days before the third Nepal Premier League begins, the overseas signings are the talk of Nepali cricket. Some teams have filled their foreign slots with famous names. Others have just one overseas player confirmed. Here is the full picture, team by team, and the rules that explain why franchises cannot simply sign as many international stars as they like.

These are the overseas players confirmed so far, based on franchise announcements and the squads listed by the league.

Janakpur Bolts (4): Harmeet Singh (USA, captain), Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand), Iftikhar Ahmed (Pakistan) and Moeen Ali (England).

Kathmandu Gorkhas (3): David Warner (Australia), KS Bharat (India) and Sahan Arachchige (Sri Lanka).

Lumbini Lions (3): Niroshan Dickwella (Sri Lanka), D'Arcy Short (Australia) and Ruben Trumpelmann (Namibia).

Pokhara Avengers (2): Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) and Dhananjaya Lakshan (Sri Lanka).

Biratnagar Kings (1): Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka).

Chitwan Rhinos (1): Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe). CAN secretary Paras Khadka has also named England's Ravi Bopara among the overseas players already signed for the season.

Karnali Yaks (1): Mark Watt (Scotland).

Sudurpaschim Royals (1): Scott Kuggeleijn (New Zealand), back for his third NPL season.

That makes 16 confirmed names across the eight teams, with more expected. Janakpur are the only side so far with four.

The first limit comes from the International Cricket Council. In 2023 the ICC agreed a rule for new T20 leagues: a team can field no more than four overseas players in its playing XI, active or retired, alongside seven local players. Leagues also have to pay a release fee of 10 per cent to the home board of every overseas player they hire.

That is why no NPL team will ever field a side full of imported stars. Even a franchise with the budget to sign more can only use four of them in any match, so the local players remain the core of every team.

Under the same ICC framework, players from Associate nations can be counted among the local players in new leagues. That helps explain why Associate internationals such as Harmeet Singh of the USA, Ruben Trumpelmann of Namibia and Mark Watt of Scotland have been attractive signings, although CAN has not published exactly how it applies this to the NPL.

The second limit is the one that has hurt franchises most directly. Players from Test-playing nations are harder for the NPL to sign.

Last season Janakpur Bolts could not bring back Jimmy Neesham, the hero of their 2024 title, "due to ICC's restrictions on Test players' signing in the NPL", The Kathmandu Post reported. Neesham played for Pokhara Avengers instead. This year he is back at Janakpur as what the Post described as a Test-category overseas player, which shows that franchises now have to plan their overseas lists around how many players from Test nations they are allowed.

Players under contract with their national boards also normally need a no-objection certificate (NOC) from their board before playing in another country's league, and boards are cautious about releasing players to tournaments that are not ICC-sanctioned.

That brings us to the biggest reason the overseas lists still look incomplete: the NPL is still waiting for official ICC sanction.

Speaking on 20 September, CAN secretary Paras Khadka said the sanction process was in its final stage, and that the league could receive List A or T20 status. That matters to players: performances in the first two NPL seasons were not added to their official career records, and sanction would change that.

It also matters for signings. "Once the sanction is received, the franchises will gradually announce all their players," Khadka said. In other words, some deals are agreed but are waiting for sanction before they can be made public.

Even confirmed players are not guaranteed for every game. Many of the NPL's overseas signings play in several T20 leagues around the world, and the NPL window has to fit around them. Nepali media have already reported doubts over whether Shakib Al Hasan will be available for Pokhara's whole season.

Expect more overseas announcements once the ICC decision comes through, especially from the teams with only one confirmed name so far: Biratnagar, Chitwan, Karnali and Sudurpaschim. Whatever happens, the four-player limit means the NPL will stay a league built on Nepali talent, with overseas players as the headline acts rather than the whole show.

We will update the team pages on NPL Khabar as new signings are confirmed.