Team India’s former opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan becomes the first Indian cricketer to participate in the inaugural season of Nepal Premier League (NPL) 2024 playing for the team Karnali Yaks.
The 38-year-old left-handed batsman officially announced his retirement from domestic and all formats of international cricket in August 2024. Since then, he has been showing a great interest in franchise leagues and recently participated in the Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024 as the captain of Gujarat Greats. Furthermore, he gave a green signal to participate in Australia’s popular Big Bash League (BBL) scheduled between 01st December 2024 to 27th January 2025.
Signing as the fourth overseas player for Karnali Yaks, Shikhar’s presence would bolster the team’s batting lineup as well as bring huge value to the team. His decision to join Karnali comes after he was released by the Punjab Kings franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction.
Along with Dhawan, the franchise has acquired these three overseas players namely:
- Mohammad Hussain Talat (PAKISTAN)
- Babar Hayat (HONG KONG)
- Chadwick Walton (WEST INDIES)
In addition, the tournament features other overseas star cricketers such as Unmukt Chand, James Neesham, Martin Guptill, Ben Cutting, and several others.
The NPL 2024 is an eight-team tournament scheduled to start on November 30 and complete on December 21 with all 32 matches (including the playoffs and finals) confirmed to be hosted at the TU (Tribhuvan University) Cricket Ground.
Shikhar Dhawan’s Re-Entry to Franchise Cricket
A sudden injury in the IPL 2024 season forced Shikhar Dhawan to stay out of action for the remaining half and Sam Curran led the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise in his absence. Out of 5 matches in the 17th season, the PBKS opener scored 152 runs in 5 matches at a batting strike rate of 125.62. Since 2022, Dhawan led the team but never managed to qualify for the playoffs.
However, taking part in a franchise league isn’t the first time for Shikhar Dhawan after playing 17 seasons of IPL in his career and the stats are tabulated below:
| Overall Matches | 222 matches |
| Runs Scored | 6,768 runs in 221 innings |
| Highest Score | 106 runs vs Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2020 |
| Batting Average | 35.07 |
| Batting Strike Rate | 127.12 |
| Number of Fours in IPL Career | 768 Fours |
| Number of Sixes in IPL Career | 152 Sixes |
During the Legends League Cricket 2024 which took place from September 20 to October 16, Dhawan as an opening batter of Gujarat Giants scored 143 runs in 6 innings at an average of 27.80 and his scores against these opponent teams are tabulated below:
| Opponent Team | Score | Balls Faced | Number of Fours and Sixes |
| Toyam Hyderabad | 21 runs | 20 balls | 3 Fours |
| Southern Super Stars | 52 runs | 48 balls | 3 Fours and 3 Sixes |
| Southern Super Stars | 38 runs | 43 balls | 5 Fours |
| Manipal Tigers | 8 runs | 8 balls | 1 six |
| India Capitals | 1 run | 3 balls | – |
| Konark Suryas Odisha | 23 runs | 24 balls | 4 Fours |
| TOTAL: | 143 runs | 146 balls | 15 fours and 4 sixes |
Karnali Yaks Squad for NPL 2024
The following is Karnali Yaks’ 15-member squad for NPL 2024 you need to know:
| S.No | Player | Nation | Role |
| 1. | Sompal Kami (captain) | Nepal | All-rounder |
| 2. | Gulshan Kumar Jha | Nepal | All-rounder |
| 3. | Nandan Yadav | Nepal | All-rounder |
| 4. | Mausam Dhakal | Nepal | Bowler |
| 5. | Arjun Gharti | Nepal | Batsman and Wicketkeeper |
| 6. | Dev Khanal | Nepal | Batsman |
| 7. | Rit Gautam | Nepal | Batsman |
| 8. | Bhuvan Karki | Nepal | All-rounder |
| 9. | Dipendra Rawat | Nepal | Batsman |
| 10. | Dipak Dumre | Nepal | Batsman and Wicketkeeper |
| 11. | Unish Bikram Singh Thakuri | Nepal | Bowler |
| 12. | Shikhar Dhawan | INDIA | Batsman |
| 13. | Chadwick Walton | WEST INDIES | Batsman and Wicketkeeper |
| 14. | Babar Hayat | PAKISTAN | Batsman |
| 15. | Hussain Talat | HONG KONG | Batsman |
Karnali Yaks announcement on Social Media after signing Shikhar Dhawan for NPL 2024
Revealing the exciting news to the entire cricket world, the Karnali Yaks on their X handle officially made an announcement mentioning that signing Shikhar Dhawan brings fresh energy to the squad. Hailed as the “Gabbar of cricket”, the team expects the experienced batsman to continue performing with his dynamic style. Overall, the franchise motivates fans upon Gabbar’s arrival in Nepal’s franchise cricket league.
Overall Facts:
Playing for the Indian cricket team, the veteran batsman scored 10,867 runs in 34 Tests, 167 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 68 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). Here is a breakdown of Dhawan’s overall runs accumulated in all three international formats:
- Tests: 2,315 runs in 58 innings, including 7 hundreds and 5 fifties (Average: 40.61 and Strike Rate: 66.95).
- ODIs: 6,793 runs in 164 innings, including 17 hundreds and 39 fifties (Average: 44.11 and Strike Rate: 91.35).
- T20Is: 1,759 runs in 66 innings including 11 fifties (Average: 27.92 and Strike Rate: 126.36).
Finally, Shikhar Dhawan plans to open a new chapter in his cricket career by shifting his focus to franchise leagues after retiring from domestic and international cricket.
