KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 9

The suspended national team skipper Sandeep Lamichhane today pleaded innocent in a rape case filed against him by a minor.

A 17-year-old girl on Wednesday filed an FIR at Gaushala Police Circle accusing Lamichhane of raping her multiple times at a hotel in Kathmandu on August 21, on the eve of the national team's departure for Nairobi to play five-match T20I and three-match one-day series against Kenya.

The Kathmandu District Court issued a warrant against Lamichhane yesterday, prompting the Cricket Association of Nepal to suspend him from the national team. Lamichhane is in the West Indies to play for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League.

However, his team has released him following the allegation of rape against him. The International Cricket Council has also expressed its concern about it.

Lamichhane, who rose to stardom after he was picked for the Indian Premier League by Delhi Daredevils in 2018, reacted to the allegation for the first time through social media, saying he is innocent and will return to Nepal in a couple of days to face 'baseless allegations'. 'I am INNOCENT & keep complete belief in the respectable laws of Nepal. I have decided to take a leave from CPL and go back to my country within few days,' Lamichhane wrote on social media, including Facebook and Twitter.

'I am ready to face all these baseless allegations. May justice be served to the innocent & right investigation to be done towards everyone involved. Hope the law acts equal to everyone,' wrote Lamichhane, the first Nepali cricketer to play in the IPL, CPL, or Australia's Big Bash League.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 10, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.