Aprajit Poudel — nineteen, and already bowling in the NPL

Season 3 in numbers

Two matches, 1 wicket at an economy of 7.00 and an average of 42.00, with a best of 1 for 16. With the bat he has 2 runs from 5 balls in one innings.

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.

The wicket came against Kathmandu Gorkhas: 1 for 16 in two overs on the night the Kings were bowled out for 83. The other game was the two-run win over Janakpur Bolts, where he bowled four overs for 26 without a wicket — the longest spell of his short season so far.

His 2 runs came in the Kathmandu game, batting at the tail as the innings fell apart around him. A 19-year-old spinner does not get judged on two runs; he gets judged on whether the captain keeps throwing him the ball, and four overs against Janakpur says the captain does.

Match by match

Every Aprajit Poudel spell in NPL Season 3 so far, in the order they happened.

The Janakpur game was the test: four overs, 0 for 26, in a two-run win — the kind of spell that does not make a highlights reel but holds a total together. The Kathmandu game was the reward: 1 for 16 in two overs, his first NPL wicket, on a night when almost nothing else went right for Biratnagar.

He has not played the other three games. The Kings’ spin department is led by Sandeep Lamichhane, with Subash Bhandari as the containing option — Poudel is competing with Bhandari for the support-spinner slot, and two games in, he is winning that race on playing time.

The youth numbers behind the pick

Poudel is a Nepal Under-19 international, named in the ACC U19 Asia Cup squad in late 2024. His youth numbers are striking: 14 wickets at 13.43 in seven one-day matches with a best of 3 for 26, plus nine wickets at 15.11 in seven T20s.

His rise ran through the 2024 youth cycle: selection in Nepal’s fifteen-member squad for the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup in late 2024, then a place in Gandaki Province’s squad for the 2026 Prime Minister Cup — the domestic step that put him on the Kings’ auction radar.

He bowls slow left-arm orthodox, the classic T20 left-arm spin package: drifting the ball into right-handers and turning it away, varying pace rather than relying on extravagant turn. The open question is the step up from youth to senior franchise cricket — Under-19 batters chase; NPL middle orders pick length early. Two games in, the answer is still being written.

Where the Kings stand

Poudel has bowled in two matches, and the Kings’ attack is still looking for its shape: Biratnagar Kings are sixth after Match 21 — four points from five games, with a net run rate of −0.820. The full table is on the NPL Points Table, and every result is on the NPL Results page.

Poudel’s 1 wicket is one of the smallest returns in the squad, but his two games are already more than the other young spinner in the squad has managed. Two wins from the last two games would take the Kings to 8 points and almost certainly into the playoffs — and a 19-year-old who has already bowled four overs in a two-run win is a genuine option for the run-in.

What’s next

Two games stand between the Kings and the playoffs. The full fixture list is on the NPL Schedule, with the Nepal Premier League hub for everything else.

• Match 22 — Biratnagar Kings vs Pokhara Avengers: Thursday 12 November 2026, 12:30 PM NST (11:45 AM PKT, 6:45 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.

Keep up with the run-in on SialTV — results and the points table, updated after every match day.