Dhakal is a genuine left-arm seam bowler, and his biggest strength is his powerplay bowling. During NPL 2024, he was among the tournament's most effective new-ball options, picking up nine of his season's wickets inside the first six overs — the joint-most in the competition at one stage — while also posting one of the best economy rates among frontline seamers in that phase.

He isn't a big-hitting lower-order batter, and his primary value to Chitwan Rhinos has consistently been with the ball rather than the bat. Former Pakistan international Sohail Tanvir's presence in the same Chitwan attack in 2024 was described as a valuable mentoring influence on Dhakal's development.

Dhakal came through Nepal's age-group system, representing the Nepal Under-16 and Under-19 national teams before progressing to provincial cricket.

He represents Bagmati Province in Nepal's Prime Minister (PM) Cup, the country's premier domestic one-day competition. Before the Nepal Premier League was launched, he also played in the earlier Nepal T20 League for two different franchises — Biratnagar Super Kings and Lalitpur Patriots.

Dhakal was first called up to Nepal's senior squad in February 2024, for an ODI series against Canada and ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 fixtures against Netherlands and Namibia. He made his ODI debut against Canada at Kirtipur on 8 February 2024, and his T20I debut against Canada at King City, Ontario, on 28 September 2024.

He has since featured in Nepal's tour of Scotland, playing his most recent recorded internationals — an ODI at Dundee and a T20I at Glasgow — in June 2025. His limited-overs international bowling figures show 4 ODI appearances with 3 wickets at an average of 51.00 and an economy of 6.38, with best figures of 2/78.

Dhakal's entire NPL career to date has been with Chitwan Rhinos, spanning all three editions of the league (2024, 2025, and 2026).

NPL 2024 (Season 1): Sold to Chitwan Rhinos for Rs 1,000,000 (10 lakh) in the league's inaugural player auction. He had a standout debut season, finishing with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 8.04 — briefly the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker — with best figures of 3/10 against Pokhara Avengers. Chitwan Rhinos were eliminated by Karnali Yaks in the Eliminator on 18 December 2024.

NPL 2025 (Season 2): Retained by Chitwan Rhinos as part of their core squad (alongside marquee player Kushal Malla) ahead of the August 2025 auction, meaning no fresh auction fee applied. He played through the season, with recent recorded figures including 2/17 vs Lumbini Lions and 1/17 vs Pokhara Avengers.

NPL 2026 (Season 3): Retained again by Chitwan Rhinos as part of the franchise's core group ahead of the 2026 season, alongside Kushal Malla, Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, and Kamal Singh Airee.

Rijan Dhakal has not captained any team — franchise, provincial, or international — based on all publicly available records.

Represents Nepal U-16 and U-19 national teams.

Plays Nepal T20 League for Biratnagar Super Kings and Lalitpur Patriots.

Represents Bagmati Province in the PM Cup.

Feb 2024 — Named in Nepal's senior ODI squad for the first time.

8 Feb 2024 — ODI debut vs Canada at Kirtipur.

28 Sep 2024 — T20I debut vs Canada at King City, Ontario.

Oct 2024 — Sold to Chitwan Rhinos for Rs 10 lakh in the inaugural NPL auction.

Nov–Dec 2024 — NPL 2024: finishes with 13 wickets at economy 8.04.

18 Dec 2024 — Chitwan Rhinos eliminated by Karnali Yaks in the NPL 2024 Eliminator.

Jun 2025 — Plays ODI and T20I vs Scotland.

Aug 2025 — Retained by Chitwan Rhinos ahead of NPL 2025.

Nov–Dec 2025 — Plays NPL Season 2 for Chitwan Rhinos.

Jul 2026 — Retained again by Chitwan Rhinos as part of the core squad for NPL Season 3.