New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham is heading back to Janakpur Bolts for the third edition of the Nepal Premier League, with the franchise confirming his re-signing on its social media channels on Tuesday. The 35-year-old was central to Janakpur's title-winning run in the tournament's inaugural 2024 season, and his return reunites him with the only franchise he has won a title with anywhere in world cricket.

Neesham's numbers from that debut NPL campaign remain the benchmark: 247 runs from nine innings at a strike rate above 196 and an average past 35, form that earned him the tournament's award for best strike rate. He also picked up seven wickets that season, giving Janakpur a genuine all-format weapon in the middle overs and at the death.

He did not feature for Janakpur in NPL Season 2 after the club had no available slot for him, moving instead to Pokhara Avengers, where he played four matches, scored 99 runs including a half-century, and took five wickets. For Season 3, he returns to Janakpur specifically in the Test-category overseas player bracket.

Janakpur Bolts chief executive officer Niroj Khatiwada framed the move as a homecoming rather than a routine signing, calling Neesham's bond with the club's supporters part of what makes his return significant, and describing him as the hero of the franchise's championship season coming back.

Neesham's résumé outside the NPL is one of the most extensive on the global T20 circuit. He has played 12 Tests, 76 ODIs and 105 T20 internationals for New Zealand, including a start in this year's T20 World Cup final against India in February. On the franchise side, he has turns with the Delhi Daredevils, Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, alongside stints in the Lanka Premier League, Vitality Blast, Bangladesh Premier League, International League T20, Pakistan Super League, SA20, The Hundred, Big Bash League and Caribbean Premier League.

His NPL 2024 title with Janakpur is still his only championship anywhere in franchise cricket — a fact that adds weight to why the club is positioning this signing as more than a squad slot filled.

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