Last week, in the high-scoring Twenty20 World Cup final, New Zealand's Jimmy Neesham bowled an over against India that is rarely talked about. Neesham took three wickets in a single over as the Indian batsmen were relentlessly attacking.

The remnants of it reached Nepal from Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Pokhara Avengers, the Nepal Premier League (NPL) team he plays for, posted a post on social media praising Nisam for taking 3 wickets in a single over. Nisam replied, 'Okay, pay your players' salaries.'

Nisam played the first 4 matches for Pokhara in the second season of the NPL that ended in December. It was clear from his reply that he had not received his salary for playing that game. Although Nisam later deleted that reply, the Pokhara management team is now giving reasons for the delay in the salary. This is not the first example of delayed or deliberate non-payment of salary in Nepali cricket. 

The board meeting of the Nepal Cricket Association (CAN) held in Bhairahawa on 1 Baisakh 2079 BS had decided to appoint Mehboob Reza at a monthly salary of Rs 20,000 to train scorers and record keepers. "I worked accordingly for 22 months, but I barely received 9 months' salary. When I brought the issue of unpaid salary to CAN, I was suspended," said Reza. "I have not yet received the remaining 13 months' salary of 260,000."

According to him, he has not yet received a total of 277,000 from CAN, including 24,000 for the ACC Premier League in 2023 and 32,000 for scoring in the Nepal Twenty20 League. He said that he had to go to Qatar to find employment after CAN suspended him. After reaching Doha, he said that he was in contact with the Qatar Cricket Association and was scoring on Saturdays and Sundays on weekends.

‘There is tension in the Middle East right now, Iran is attacking Qatar, that’s it, Qatar has come to see the missiles, as soon as the alarm goes off on the mobile, we have to enter the apartment, what kind of life will it be, we are living in tension,’ Reza told Kantipur, ‘The stress of not getting a salary for 13 months after working at CAN was no less than this.’

The motorcycle that Lalit did not get

Seven years ago, when CAN was under international suspension, the National Sports Council (NSC) had organized the Prime Minister’s Cup in collaboration with Nepalaya International. Before the competition, NSC had announced that it would give Rs 30,000 each to the best bowler and batter and Rs 50,000 to the player of the series at a press conference at the Marriott Hotel, while Nepalaya had announced that it would give a motorcycle to the player of the series. 

Nepal Police Club defeated Tribhuvan Army Club by 4 wickets in the final and became the champion. Police spinner Lalit Rajbanshi took his wicket tally to 20 in the competition by taking 4 wickets in the final. He was selected as the Player of the Series. But at the award ceremony, he was given only Rs 50,000 in cash. Lalit did not get a motorcycle. The organizer Nepalaya had backed out of the motorcycle announcement saying that it could not bring enough sponsors. 

‘Despite inquiring many times, they did not give him a motorcycle. I told him to tell the National Cricket Council (NCC) instead of Nepalaya. When I went to the National Cricket Council (NCC), Nepalaya announced it. They said they would give it to me, but I did not get the motorcycle that I was supposed to get after playing,’ Lalit told Kantipur. Since then, he has been selected as the best player and has received 3 more motorcycles. He said, ‘If I had received that too, I would have had four.’

The players’ plight after the organizer ran away

The Nepal Twenty20 League, which was controversially organized in 2022-23, was greatly affected by ‘match fixing’. The players who played in it are still struggling without receiving their salaries. The dispute escalated after the Indian team withdrew from the tournament in the middle of the tournament, which CAN organized with Indian company Seven Three Sports as its commercial and strategic partner.

An agreement was reached before the start of the tournament to pay 40 percent of the players' salaries. But even as the tournament was in the middle, some players from the team complained that they had not received their salaries. English player Alex Blake, who came to play for Kathmandu Knights, had said during the tournament, "We have come to play this tournament after leaving our family during Christmas, but the salary has not been finalized yet." Malaysian Virandeep Singh, who played for Kathmandu Knights, told Kantipur that he recently received the $6,475 salary he was owed after almost 3 years. Singh said that the Malaysian Cricket Association coordinated the payment through CAN.

Avinash Bohra, who played alongside Blake and Virandeep, has not yet received his full salary. He joined the Knights through the draft for Rs 1 million. Avinash said that the Knights players have received only 50 percent of the amount so far. ‘According to my agreement, it is Rs 1 million, 50 percent was given, and even after deducting taxes, I still have to get Rs 350,000,’ Avinash said, ‘Despite requesting many times, I have not received the amount yet.’

Avinash was also selected as the best bowler in the Nepal Twenty-20 League, taking 19 wickets. He received a cheque for Rs 250,000 as the best bowler. But he has not received the cash yet. Avinash vividly remembers the moment when Seven Three Sports founder Jatin Ahulawalia ran away in the middle.

After Jatin ran away and the owner of Kathmandu Knights could not be found, the players refused to play without assurance of their remuneration, due to which the match between Kathmandu Knights and Biratnagar Super Kings started 2 hours late due to the players refusing to play. The game resumed after CAN President Chatur Bahadur Chand, Prashant Malla, and General Manager Vritanta Khanal prepared a document and ensured the remuneration. However, the Knights players have not yet received their full remuneration for playing. According to the agreement, CAN has accepted the remuneration due to the players and will pay it within 6 months. 

Gyanendra Malla, who captained the Knights and played in the Nepal Twenty-20 League, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket and became the coach of the Nepali national team and was included in the proportional list of the National Independent Party. Even after more than 3 years, he has not received his remuneration. ‘Almost all stakeholders were requested for remuneration, but no one has paid attention, 

We also told the then CAN, and compared to the current CAN, they say that it was the calculation at that time,’ Gyanendra complained. His remuneration for the marquee player was fixed at 1.5 million rupees, but he received only 750,000.

Karan KC, who played for Far West United in the same competition, says he has not yet received his full salary. The foreign-invested Far West team had taken Karan from the draft for Rs 1.5 million. But Karan said that the franchise team paid only 50 percent of his salary. 

‘We had asked the management team of Far West United for the salary, they say that they have sent the money to CAN, but no one in CAN gives a concrete decision,’ Karan said, ‘When we informed the current CAN about this, they said that the old CAN should pay it, the players have been directly affected by not getting the salary for playing.’