Kathmandu: Lumbini Lions have retained six players for the second season of Nepal Premier League, a T20 franchise cricket tournament, including national captain Rohit Paudel. 

Along with Paudel, the marquee player and captain last season, Lumbini Lions retained Vivek Yadav, Sandeep Jora, Dinesh Adhikari, Tilak Raj Bhandari, and Abhishek Gautam. 

Meanwhile, Surya Tamang, Arjun Saud, Durgesh Gupta, Ashutosh Ghimire, Bikash Agri, and Arif Khan have been released from the team.

Issuing a press statement, Lumbini Lions president Ishwar GC has said, “I would like to thank all the players who stood by us when we began our journey. Their contributions were invaluable and they will always remain a part of our family.”

Lumbini Lions had finished at the bottom of the table in the eight-team contest last season and crashed out from the group stage.