Aakash Chand NPL 2026 — Pokhara Avengers Profile

Retained for what he knows about Kirtipur

Aakash Chand has played two matches in NPL Season 3, and his figures are a single line: 1 not out off one ball with the bat, and two overs for 37 runs without a wicket. He is a bowler, retained through the June 2026 retention window.

Bowler. Retained through the June 2026 retention window. Captain: Kushal Bhurtel. Head coach: Ajantha Mendis.

The verified record does not specify his playing role, which makes the retention itself his story: through a summer that changed the head coach, brought in Ajantha Mendis and added two overseas signings, the coaches who watched him daily in Season 2 decided he was worth keeping. A retained domestic player carries venue knowledge no signing can buy, and with every fixture staged at Kirtipur’s TU Ground, that familiarity is genuine currency.

His season so far is two short appearances. Against Sudurpaschim Royals in Match 4 he bowled one over for 12 runs and did not bat. Against Lumbini Lions in Match 13 he bowled 1.4 overs for 25 runs and made 1 not out off one ball. Two overs, 37 runs, no wicket — the numbers of a bowler who has barely had a chance, in a side that has lost four of five.

Season 3 in numbers

All figures cover matches through Match 21, played on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Pokhara Avengers have played five matches; they did not play Match 21.

Numbers from the NPL season file, updated 10 November 2026, covering matches through Match 21. Strike rate is runs per 100 balls; economy is runs per over.

Match by match

Every innings and every spell, newest first. An asterisk means not out.

What the numbers mean

The bowling figures are the whole of his season: 0 for 12 in one over against Sudurpaschim Royals, 0 for 25 in 1.4 overs against Lumbini Lions. An economy of 13.88 across 16 balls is expensive, but 16 balls is no sample at all — and both spells came in defeats, the second in a game Pokhara lost by eight wickets after being bowled out for 97. His batting is a single ball: 1 not out, which means he has no batting average at all.

The case for Chand is the ground, not the figures. Every fixture is staged at Kirtipur’s TU Ground, and a retained domestic player who knows its moods is worth more than his two overs suggest. Two must-win matches remain, both at the same ground, and a bowler kept for his knowledge of it is the kind of player a side recalls when it needs control rather than pace.

Where Pokhara Avengers stand

Chand’s Kirtipur knowledge was the reason for his retention; the run-in, both games at the same ground, is where it pays.

Two matches remain, and both are must-win. Biratnagar Kings on Thursday 12 November at 12:30 PM NST, then Kathmandu Gorkhas on Sunday 15 November at 4:30 PM NST, both at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Two wins take Pokhara to six points, but that is only the start of the maths: Chitwan Rhinos would have to lose both of their remaining matches, and net run rate — currently minus 0.707 — would have to fall Pokhara's way. Lose either game and the season is over. Full list: NPL Schedule.