After a month of intense excitement and buzz, the Nepal Premier League (NPL) cricket season will take a break on Saturday. The final will be played between Sudurpaschim Royals and Lumbini Lions at the renovated Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.

Even before the start of the NPL season-2, there were some questions. There was doubt that the competition would be held on time. Even if it did, there was a concern that it would not be held under floodlights. A kind of fear remained.

Finally, overcoming that, this time's NPL is looking for a happy ending. Now only one question remains, who will win the title? Sudurpaschim Royals or Lumbini Lions? Along with that, there is another question, who will be the best player? Now the answer to all these questions will come on Saturday evening.  

Even before that, everyone has already got the answer to a basic question. That is, if anyone really wins in the NPL, it is Nepali cricket. If no one has to lose, there is no one. It was like a commentary, Nepali sports cannot do anything big. Where it is, it will remain there. It is ironic for Nepali sports, others will move forward by doing good, while we will keep watching. But not now, with the successful organization of the second season of NPL, Nepali sports will also do something now.

Nepali sports itself is representing the country. In the recent times when the political situation and natural disasters have been covering the country, the NPL has given the common Nepali an excuse to be happy.

Although the NPL is Nepal's own domestic franchise cricket tournament, its successful organization has shown that Nepal is capable of organizing major sports tournaments. This is especially applicable to cricket. It is certain that the selection for the biggest Women's Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Nepal will not be stopped.

A happy message has been sent from Nepal to world cricket. This country is only an associate member of the ICC. But there is something special about cricket here. The sports enthusiasts here are special. Nepali sports had a dream for a long time, to make this country a destination for international cricket. Perhaps now the day is beginning to move towards that. Whenever a tournament is successfully organized, the questions raised about it tend to weaken in themselves. 

This is to say that the NPL is looking for a happy ending. This time the tournament will not end just like this. Some other specific perspectives on this tournament have also evolved. One of those facts is the immense participation of the general audience. There has never been a shortage of spectators who buy tickets to watch at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground. There has been a slight shortage of spectators in some specific matches, but overall there has been no shortage of spectators. On the contrary, many people complained about not being able to watch the game live. 

People continue to watch as many games as possible on television and the same goes for OTT. It never hurts to move forward with a game that the audience loves the most. In some countries that have Test recognition, cricket is played without spectators. Leaving aside England, Australia and India, Nepal has now become a country where there are no spectators. We are not the only ones saying this, foreign media and the International Cricket Council are saying this. 

That is why the second season of NPL received praise abroad. The second fact is that competitive cricket became available on the field. This must also be the reason for real happiness. Whatever was needed to make a competition successful based on the game, was seen in this NPL. From a century to a 6-wicket performance, from a hat-trick wicket to an amazing catch on the boundary. Accurate run-outs to a fielding worth saying 'wow'. In particular, there was an equal competition between bat and ball. 

Many famous foreign players also made Nepal their destination for the NPL. They performed accordingly. To some extent, foreign players dominated the game. But this is an essential basic requirement if the level of play of any country is to be raised. Nepali players have got the opportunity to learn a lot from their foreign colleagues. Nepali players have got the opportunity to see their lifestyle, food and discipline closely.

One of the big reasons why Nepal was able to play the Twenty20 World Cup in the United States last time was the first season of NPL. Staying there, Nepal has now qualified for the next edition of the World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka. It is certain that this season's NPL will inspire Nepal to play better in the next World Cup. Nepal will be able to play with more confidence in the next World Cup. 

Having said that, praise for the competition alone will not make this NPL mature. Many weaknesses were seen in this competition as well. Due to which, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) as the organizer has more room for improvement and correction. Especially regarding the organization of the competition, all the facts related to it need to be transparent. The more transparent any decision and its implementation is, the better. 

The level of umpiring still needs to be improved. And when will a team that spends crores earn? These questions also need answers. Another great feature of franchise cricket is that if any major problem is found in it, it can sink the entire competition. Franchise cricket has not been equally successful everywhere. Organizing such a tournament is a big deal in itself, but continuing it is even more difficult. So it is not possible to ignore it. 

When the third season of the NPL begins, this tournament will have completed two years and it will start moving. We have to be aware that there will be stumbling blocks when trying to move. That means that the responsibility has increased even more on CAN, it has to shoulder all of them. 

There is an equally important different fact. Nepali cricket did not remain stuck in the Twenty20 format alone. Real cricket is still a game played for more than one day. The NPL should now be a tournament that can support that. For now, our full attention should be on the final.