The NPR 20 lakh buy
Lumbini spent more than any other team at the July auction — NPR 44 lakh in total — and the biggest single cheque went to Aasif Sheikh: NPR 20 lakh, the most the franchise spent on any player, to bring the wicketkeeper-batter across from the Janakpur Bolts.
It was a signing made for two jobs at once. Sheikh is the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award winner, a man with 69 T20 internationals and 63 one-day internationals behind him, and the owner of a piece of Nepal cricket history: his 58 off 97 balls against India at the 2023 Asia Cup was the first ODI half-century by a Nepali against India. He has 1,646 T20I runs. The Lions bought him to open the batting and keep wicket — to give a settled, title-winning side a specialist opener and the senior voice the top order had been missing.
Season 3 in numbers
Four innings, 61 runs, four fours and four sixes. Sheikh is the third-highest run-scorer for Lumbini this season, behind only captain Rohit Paudel’s 86 and Niroshan Dickwella’s 75 — and his strike rate of 110.91 is the price of the job he does: he faces the new ball, so his runs come in the powerplay, when the field is up and the bowlers are fresh.
| Batting | M | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | HS | SR | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPL Season 3 | 4 | 61 | 55 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 110.91 | 15.25 |
The average of 15.25 is the honest part of the story: the runs have not yet come in the volume a NPR 20 lakh signing is bought to deliver. But the four sixes are joint-second among Lumbini batters this season, and the 32 on the opening night was the highest score in that chase.
Season 3 figures cover every completed match through Match 21 (the abandoned Match 7 produced no play), compiled from the published match scorecards and updated 10 November 2026.
Match by match
Every Aasif Sheikh innings in NPL Season 3 so far, in the order they happened. The full scores are on the NPL Results page.
| Match | Opponent | Batting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — 26 Oct | Sudurpaschim Royals | 32 (25 balls) |
| 13 — 3 Nov | Pokhara Avengers | 7 (7 balls) |
| 14 — 5 Nov | Janakpur Bolts | 21 (21 balls) |
| 18 — 7 Nov | Kathmandu Gorkhas | 1 (2 balls) |
The opener was the innings the signing was made for: 32 off 25 balls, with two fours and two sixes, in a chase of 88 that the Lions finished with seven wickets and more than ten overs to spare. Against Janakpur he made 21 off 21 in a total of 149 for 8, the fourth-highest score of the innings, in the 16-run win. The two small scores since — seven against Pokhara, one against Kathmandu — are the pattern of an opener’s season: the starts are there, the conversion into a fifty is not, yet.
The keeper-opener’s job
Sheikh walks into two jobs for the champions: opening the batting and keeping wicket. That is the whole point of the signing — one player, two roles, and the experience to do both under pressure.
The Lions need stable powerplay starts to justify the spend, and the opening partnership has been the side’s quiet problem this season: the top order has given the side starts, but no Lumbini opener has yet made a fifty. What Sheikh brings that no other Lion can is 69 T20Is of reading new-ball bowling — and the knowledge that a keeper who opens sees the pitch twice, once from behind the stumps and once from the crease. With two league games left and the playoffs in sight, the side needs one big innings from him. The two games against Karnali and Biratnagar are the chance.
What’s next
Two league games left in the Nepal Premier League, then the playoffs. Lumbini are third after Match 21 — seven points from five games, with the best net run rate in the league at +1.501. The full table is on the NPL Points Table, and the full list of fixtures 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
How many runs has Aasif Sheikh scored in NPL 2026?
61 runs in four innings, at a strike rate of 110.91, with a highest score of 32 against Sudurpaschim Royals on the opening night. Figures cover matches 1–21.
How much did Lumbini Lions pay for Aasif Sheikh?
NPR 20 lakh at the July 2026 auction — the most the franchise spent on any player, and the most expensive domestic signing of the auction. He joined from the Janakpur Bolts.
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.