The cricket association announced on Monday that Sandeep Lamichhane, who missed matches in the US due to his visa being refused, would now be a member of Nepal’s T20 World Cup team in the West Indies. Former captain Lamichhane, whose eight-year rape conviction was overturned on appeal, was the player Nepal had first intended to choose, but after vigorous lobbying, his US visa was repeatedly refused. The West Indies and the United States are co-hosting the T20 World Cup. In a statement, organization secretary Paras Khadka stated, “Nepali player Sandeep Lamichhane will depart for the West Indies for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup and join the Nepali national cricket team.”
The 23-year-old spin bowler Lamichhane was once Nepal’s cricket poster child until he was found guilty in 2022 of raping a young lady in a Kathmandu hotel. That was invalidated a month ago.
Lamichhane said on X, previously Twitter, “I am looking forward to fulfilling my dreams and the dream of all cricket lovers.” “I am now joining the national team for the last two matches in the West Indies.”
“To all our cricket fans and people back home everywhere who prayed for me, I will forever be grateful for your blessings.”
Fans greeted his social media postings with congratulations when he made the news.
Nepal’s first World Cup match ended in a six-wicket loss against the Netherlands.
against Wednesday, they take against Sri Lanka in Florida, followed by group games against South Africa and Bangladesh in the West Indies.
Leg-spinner Lamichhane’s performance had raised the reputation of the sport in the Himalayan country significantly prior to his rape conviction.
When Lamichhane was originally given an arrest warrant in 2022, he had not returned from Jamaica, where he was participating in the Caribbean Premier League.
After being detained and stripped of his position as national captain, he was released on bond and Nepal removed his playing suspension.
Up until his conviction in January of last year, it permitted him to continue playing, even throughout the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In mid-May, the conviction was overturned.
In Nepal, cricket is not as popular as it is in other parts of South Asia.
But the sport has been gaining popularity; in 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the global governing body, granted Nepal one-day international status.
Being the most sought-after Nepali cricket player in the world’s most lucrative T20 tournaments was largely due to Lamichhane.
The bowler’s big break came in 2018 when he signed with the wealthiest cricket league in the world, the Indian Premier League.
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