NPL 2026 Overseas Player Rules: Squad Limit, XI Limit and NOC Explained
Teams can sign up to eight overseas players but only four can play. Here is how the rules work and why your favourite signing might be on the bench.
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Every year someone on Facebook asks why the big overseas signing is not playing. Usually the answer is simple: the rules.
Eight in the squad, four on the field
Cricnepal reported that each NPL franchise can now register up to eight overseas players, up from six in the first two seasons. But the playing XI must have at least seven Nepali players. That leaves room for four foreigners at most.
So a team with eight overseas names will always have four of them watching. That is not drama, that is maths.
The Associate rule
There is a twist. The Kathmandu Post says every XI must include at least one player from an ICC Associate country, think USA, UAE, Netherlands, Scotland and so on. That player still counts as one of the four overseas slots. It does not give anyone a fifth.
This is why signings like Shadley van Schalkwyk of the USA are more valuable than they look. He ticks a box selectors need to tick.
Retired players still need permission
Overseas players need a no-objection certificate from their home board, even if they have retired from international cricket. So "he is retired, he can play anywhere" is not quite true.
The six-month rule
Anyone who played in unapproved cricket in the six months before the NPL starts is not eligible. CAN secretary Paras Khadka explained that this means events not recognised by the relevant governing body and the player's home board. Please do not start accusing players based on a photo from some exhibition match. Leave that to the officials.
So when you read a signing story
Ask yourself: has the team announced him, has he been cleared, and is he in today's XI? Three different things. Our squads page has every team, and the team sheet at the toss settles the rest.
