The batter waiting for his chance
Tripathi is a Nepal right-handed batter who came through the country’s Under-19 system and played at the 2024 ICC Under-19 World Cup. Lumbini bought him for NPR 5 lakh in Category B at the July 2026 auction — his third NPL franchise in three seasons, after the Janakpur Bolts and the Kathmandu Gorkhas.
His senior domestic T20 record stands at 309 runs in 12 games with three fifties, and his youth one-day numbers are stronger still: 361 runs in 19 matches, with a best of 89. Those are the figures of a batter who scores in bursts and has not yet had a long run to turn promise into a season. The Lions signed him as the squad’s designated development batter — the young player in a champion side who learns the dressing room first and waits for the game that needs him.
Why he hasn’t played yet
Tripathi’s name does not appear in any of the 21 published scorecards of NPL Season 3 so far. He has not played a game for the Lions this season — not because of form, but because the side he joined has barely changed its eleven.
The top order has been settled all season: Aasif Sheikh and Niroshan Dickwella open, D’Arcy Short and Rohit Paudel follow, and the middle order has run on Sundeep Jora and the all-rounders. A development batter’s chance in a side like that comes from one of three things — an injury, a tactical change, or a game where the result matters less than the future. Lumbini have two league games left, against Karnali on Thursday and Biratnagar on Saturday, and the second of those may be the moment: if the Lions have already secured their playoff place by then, the captain has every reason to give a 21-year-old his first game in the shirt.
The batting unit around him
The batting Tripathi is waiting to join has been the steady, unspectacular engine of the Lions’ season. Rohit Paudel leads it with 86 runs in four innings, ahead of Dickwella’s 75 and Aasif Sheikh’s 61, and the side is third in the NPL Points Table with seven points from five games and the league’s best net run rate at +1.501. Every result is on the NPL Results page.
What the unit has not yet produced is a fifty — no Lumbini batter has reached one this season — and that is the gap a young batter with three domestic fifties is signed to fill. The 2025 title side was built on its core staying together; the 2026 side is built the same way, with one new face at the top and the rest retained. Tripathi is the next face in line. The champions won the title last year with a squad that trusted its young players when the moment came; this season, the moment has not come yet.
What’s next
Two league games left in the Nepal Premier League, then the playoffs. The full list of every NPL fixture is on the NPL Schedule.
- Match 23 — Karnali Yaks vs Lumbini Lions: Thursday 12 November 2026, 4:30 PM NST (3:45 PM PKT, 10:45 AM UTC), TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
- Match 26 — Biratnagar Kings vs Lumbini Lions: Saturday 14 November 2026, 4:30 PM NST (3:45 PM PKT, 10:45 AM UTC), TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
- Playoffs: Qualifier 1 on Tuesday 17 November, the Eliminator on Wednesday 18 November, Qualifier 2 on Thursday 19 November, and the final on Saturday 21 November — every playoff starts at 4:30 PM NST.
Follow every NPL result as it happens on SialTV, with the points table updated after every match day.
Frequently asked questions
Has Aakash Tripathi played in NPL 2026?
Not yet. His name does not appear in any of the 21 published scorecards of the season so far. He is in the Lumbini Lions squad and waiting for his first game.
Which teams has Aakash Tripathi played for in the NPL?
Lumbini Lions are his third franchise in three seasons. He played for the Janakpur Bolts and the Kathmandu Gorkhas in the first two seasons before joining the Lions for NPR 5 lakh.
When is Lumbini Lions’ next match?
Match 23 against Karnali Yaks on Thursday 12 November 2026, starting at 4:30 PM NST at the TU Ground in Kirtipur. Their last league game is against Biratnagar Kings on Saturday 14 November.