The season so far
Two wins, two defeats, one washout — the record of a team that belongs in the playoff race but has not yet put distance between itself and the pack. Every result in the league is on the NPL Results page.
It has been a season of fine margins. The Rhinos opened by beating Biratnagar by eight runs, then lost to the Royals by five wickets with 20 balls to spare. They beat Pokhara by 30 runs, and pushed the league leaders all the way in the last game — 170 for 7 chasing Kathmandu’s 180 for 8, beaten by 10 runs. Ravi Bopara’s 171 runs lead the Rhinos’ batting in Season 3 — the second-highest total in the league — and the bowling has done the rest. The washout came against Lumbini Lions on 31 October — the only game of the season so far to produce no result.
The playoff maths
Fourth after Match 21, five points from five games, net run rate +0.009. The full table is on the NPL Points Table.
Five points, two games left. The remaining fixtures are Janakpur Bolts on Friday 13 November and Karnali Yaks on Sunday 15 November. Win both and the Rhinos reach nine points — and nine is enough, whatever happens elsewhere: only Kathmandu, the Royals and Lumbini can reach more, which leaves Chitwan fourth at worst. Win one and they finish on seven, which would leave them hoping results go their way — their net run rate, +0.009, is the weakest of the four teams currently in the playoff places, so a tie would not favour them. Lose both, and the five points they have now would almost certainly not be enough.
The first of the two games is the bigger one. Janakpur sit fifth on four points, one behind Chitwan, so Friday is effectively a playoff eliminator played a week early: win it, and the Rhinos stay clear of the team chasing them; lose it, and Janakpur go past them with a game to spare.
The attack is the story
Chitwan’s season has been built by its bowlers. Rijan Dhakal has 10 wickets in four matches — second in the whole league, behind only Janakpur’s Harmeet Singh on 11 — and Kamal Airee has nine in three, joint-third. Between them they have taken 19 of the 33 wickets Chitwan have claimed in the four matches that produced a result.
Sikandar Raza gives Kushal Malla an all-round option in the middle order and an off-spin option with the ball, and Usama Mir adds wicket-taking leg-spin. The batting has leaned heavily on Ravi Bopara, whose 171 runs are the second-most in the league; the question for the last two games is whether the rest of the order can share the load. Dev Khanal carries an important responsibility at the top of the order, and the domestic attack around the two leaders — Mausam Dhakal, Gautam KC, Ashok Dhami — has kept the side in games even when the runs have been short.
From the Eliminator to seventh — and back up
In the first season of the Nepal Premier League, in 2024, the Rhinos reached the playoffs and the Eliminator. The second season went the other way: two wins from seven league games, seventh place, and a batting line-up that never quite fired.
Ravi Bopara’s 237 runs at a strike rate of 130.22 were the one constant in 2025, with Kushal Malla’s 135 next — but the side lacked enough collective batting production to stay in the top-four race. Season 3 was built to fix that. The club kept its captain and its domestic core, bought all-rounder Bibek Kumar Yadav for NPR 15 lakh at the July auction, and added overseas experience in Sikandar Raza, Usama Mir and Kaleem Sana. The Rhinos spent NPR 26 lakh at the auction and kept NPR 16 lakh in the purse — a bet that the core they already had was good enough. Five games in, fourth place says the bet is working.
The squad
Fifteen players, all verified before the season, plus head coach Sohail Tanvir — the former Pakistan left-arm quick who took the league’s first five-for as a player. Kushal Malla captains the side. The list below is the squad as verified before the season — a small number of overseas players who have since appeared for the Rhinos, Ravi Bopara among them, are not in that list yet; their details are being checked against the match scorecards and will be added here once confirmed.
Bibek Kumar Yadav, bought for NPR 15 lakh, was the Rhinos’ biggest auction purchase. The retained core — Malla, Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Kamal Singh Airee, Ranjeet Kumar, Deepak Bohara and Rijan Dhakal — all return from last season, and the overseas signings add the experience the 2025 side was missing.
What’s next
Two league games left, then the playoffs. The full list of every NPL fixture is on the NPL Schedule.
- Match 25 — Janakpur Bolts vs Chitwan Rhinos: Friday 13 November 2026, 4:30 PM NST (3:45 PM PKT, 10:45 AM UTC), TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
- Match 27 — Chitwan Rhinos vs Karnali Yaks: Sunday 15 November 2026, 12:30 PM NST (11:45 AM PKT, 6:45 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
Who captains Chitwan Rhinos?
Kushal Malla, the all-rounder, who has led the side through Season 3. Sohail Tanvir, the former Pakistan fast bowler, is head coach.
Have the Rhinos ever won the NPL?
No. Their best finish is the Eliminator in the first season, in 2024. They finished seventh in 2025, winning two of their seven league games.
Where do Chitwan stand in NPL 2026?
Fourth after Match 21, with five points from five games and a net run rate of +0.009. Two wins from their last two league games would guarantee a playoff place.
When is Chitwan’s next match?
Match 25 against Janakpur Bolts on Friday 13 November 2026, starting at 4:30 PM NST at the TU Ground in Kirtipur. Their last league game is against Karnali Yaks on Sunday 15 November.