# Nepal T20 League

The Nepal T20 League (abbreviated as NepalT20) was a Nepalese men's Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Cricket Association of Nepal in 2022. The only edition of the tournament was held from 24 December 2022 to 11 January 2023, before it was scrapped and replaced by the Nepal Premier League.

## History

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) signed a NPR 330 million agreement with Indian sports management company Seven3Sports for a period of eight years to hold a franchise Twenty20 league tournament on 26 April 2022. On 18 May 2022, CAN announced that the first edition of the tournament would be held in 24 September to 22 October of the year. The league was authorized by the International Cricket Council on 11 July 2022. On 19 July 2022, four franchises, Lumbini All Stars, Kantipur Capital, Biratnagar Super Kings and Janakpur Royals, and their owners were announced. Two more franchises, Pokhara Avengers and Far West United were announced on 8 September 2022 along with their owners. The draft for the first edition of the league was held from 10 September 2022 to 11 September 2022. On 15 September 2022, the league was postponed to December of the same year after security concerns following announcement of the 2022 Nepalese general election. The league was supposed to be held from 11 December 2022 but was postponed to 23 December after Kathmandu Gurkhas (renamed from Kantipur Capital) withdrew from the tournament. The team was replaced by a new Kathmandu franchise, the Kathmandu Knights. The league was again postponed for a day and the 2022 edition officially began on 24 December 2022.

## Organization
### Prize money

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced a total prize money of रु 10 million for the four franchises that reach the play-offs. The prize money is split as follows:
* रु 500,000 – To the loser of the Eliminator
* रु 1,000,000 – To the loser of Qualifier 2
* रु 3,000,000 – To the Runner up
* रु 5,500,000 – To the Champion
In addition to this the player of the series will receive रु 500,000, the best bowler and the best batsmen will receive रु 200,000 each, the rising player will be awarded रु 180,000 and the player of the match will receive रु 40,000.

## Teams

Teams :
| Team | City | Province | Debut | Captain |
| Biratnagar Super Kings | Biratnagar | Koshi Province | 2022 | Andre McCarthy |
| Janakpur Royals | Janakpur | Madhesh Province | 2022 | Trevon Griffith |
| Kathmandu Knights | Kathmandu | Bagmati Province | 2022 | Gyanendra Malla |
| Pokhara Avengers | Pokhara | Gandaki Province | 2022 | Upul Tharanga |
| Lumbini All Stars | Bhairahawa | Lumbini Province | 2022 | Dipendra Singh Airee |
| Far West United | Dhangadi | Sudurpashchim Province | 2022 | Hashmatullah Shahidi |

## Tournament seasons and results

| Season | Final venue | Final | Final | Final | Player of the season |
| Season | Final venue | Winner | Result | Runner-up | Player of the season |
| 2022 | TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur | Lumbini All Stars 133 (19.2 overs) | Lumbini All Stars won by 24 runs Scorecard | Biratnagar Super Kings 109/8 (20 overs) | Hussain Talat (Biratnagar Super Kings) |

## Controversies
### Non-payments

The match between Kathmandu Knights and Biratnagar Super Kings on 3 January was delayed by two hours after players refused to take the field after failing to get their payments. The players were contracted to get 40% of their payments before the start of the tournament and the remaining 60% during the tournament. Only players from Pokhara Avengers and Lumbini All Stars had been paid 50% of their contracted amount while the rest of the players had not been paid yet. The game resumed after Cricket Association Nepal officials assured the players of their payments.

### Spot-fixing

Kathmandu Knights captain Gyanendra Malla revealed on 4 January that one of his teammates had been approached for match-fixing. The incident was reported to ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit following which a team was sent to Nepal to investigate the claims. The Central investigation Bureau also form specialized teams to look into the incidents. The Bureau in its preliminary investigation revealed that it was keeping close watch on three Nepali players and four foreign players on accusations of spot-fixing. The investigation also found evidence that Seven3Sports, the sports management company organizing the event, were involved in the incidents.