Anil Kumar Sah — the 2024 title-winning captain, waiting

The title-winning captain who has not played yet

Anil Kumar Sah has not played in NPL Season 3 yet. The man who captained Janakpur Bolts to the inaugural 2024 title is still waiting for his first game of the season — six matches in, with one league match left, and the Bolts’ season on the line against Chitwan Rhinos on Friday.

TBC. Retained. Captain: Harmeet Singh. Head coach: Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Anil Kumar Sah is the retained senior of Janakpur Bolts, the captain who led the franchise to its inaugural 2024 NPL title. Janakpur paid Rs 1.5 million for him at the inaugural auction — the most expensive player sold there — securing him through a lucky draw after all eight franchises showed interest. He moves into Season 3 under new captain Harmeet Singh after a Season 2 of shared captaincy.

His standing in Nepali cricket keeps rising: in August 2026 he was named to lead Nepal A in the Top End T20 Series. He was born in Kalaiya, Bara, and his connection to this franchise is the deepest in the squad — no other Bolt has captained the side to a title.

No playing role is listed for him in the Season 3 squad record, and he has no batting or bowling entry in the season stats file through Match 21. That is the honest position: six matches have passed without him in the XI, and the one match left is a shootout. If he plays against Chitwan Rhinos on Friday, it will be his first appearance of the season — and the biggest game of Janakpur’s year.

Season 3 in numbers

All figures cover matches through Match 21, played on Tuesday 10 November 2026.

No batting or bowling entry for this player in the season stats file through Match 21 — he has not played in NPL Season 3 yet.

Match by match

No match-by-match figures yet — the first game will be listed here.

No innings or spells on record through Match 21.

What the wait means

A side that has lost four of six matches, with nobody in the side past 150 runs for the season, leaving its title-winning captain on the bench is a genuine puzzle. The top order has been the problem all season: Janakpur were bowled out for 93 in Match 21, with Trit Raj Das’s 21 the top score, and the side has crossed 150 only twice in six matches. Sah’s experience — a title as captain, a Nepal A captaincy — is exactly the kind of thing a side in a shootout usually reaches for.

The counter-argument is selection, not sentiment. Santosh Karki, the only keeper among the auction buys, is also waiting for a game, and the XI that has played six matches has kept the same shape. But Friday is not a game for shape. It is a game Janakpur must win to stay alive, and the man who has already won this tournament as captain is sitting in the squad. If the Bolts lose without him, the question will follow them into the off-season.

Where the Bolts stand

Janakpur Bolts sit fifth in the NPL points table on 4 points from six matches — two wins, four defeats, net run rate −0.303. One league match remains: Chitwan Rhinos on Friday 13 November at 4:30 PM NST (3:45 PM PKT, 10:45 AM UTC) at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. It is a straight shootout — the winner stays in the playoff race and the loser is out. Chitwan sit one place above Janakpur on 5 points, so a Bolts win takes them past the Rhinos, and leaves Chitwan needing to beat Karnali Yaks on Sunday to stay alive themselves.