Sandeep Lamichhane will join Nepal’s T20 World Cup squad in the West Indies after missing matches in the United States due to a visa denial, the cricket association announced Monday.
Nepal had originally intended to nominate former skipper Lamichhane, who had an eight-year rape sentence overturned on appeal, but his US visa was denied twice despite intensive lobbying.
Prior to his rape conviction, Lamichhane’s success as a leg-spinner had raised the sport’s profile in the Himalayan Republic.
When an arrest warrant was issued in 2022, Lamichhane did not return from Jamaica, where he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League. He was removed as national captain and detained, but Nepal lifted his playing ban once he was released on bond.
It enabled him to continue playing, notably in last year’s Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, until his conviction in January. The conviction was overturned in mid-May.
Cricket is not as popular in Nepal as it is elsewhere in South Asia. However, the sport’s popularity has grown, with Nepal granted one-day international status by the International Cricket Council in 2018.
“Looking forward to fulfilling my dreams”- Sandeep Lamichhane announces him joining the Nepal T20 WC squad
Sandeep Lamichhane will join Nepal’s T20 World Cup squad in the West Indies after missing matches in the United States due to a visa denial, the cricket association announced Monday.
Lamichhane, a 23-year-old spin bowler, was once Nepal’s cricket poster boy before being convicted in 2022 of raping a young woman at a Kathmandu hotel. That was quashed last month.
The T20 World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States and West Indies.
“Nepali player Sandeep Lamichhane will leave for the West Indies for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup and join the Nepali national cricket team,” association secretary Paras Khadka said in a statement.
The cricketer personally revealed the news on Twitter (now X).
“I am now joining the national team for the last two matches in the West Indies and looking forward to fulfilling my dreams and the dream of all cricket lovers. To all our cricket fans and people back home everywhere who prayed for me, I will forever be grateful for your blessings,” Lamichhane posted.
Namaste 🙏
Hello from West Indies.🏝️❤️ pic.twitter.com/7w6y6lEslO— Sandeep Lamichhane (@Sandeep25) June 10, 2024
Nepal lost to the Netherlands by six wickets in their World Cup opener. They play Sri Lanka on Wednesday in Florida, before group matches in the West Indies against South Africa and Bangladesh.
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