KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 24

The Supreme Court today referred former national cricket team skipper Sandeep Lamichhane's case to the division bench. Lamichhane, who is out on conditional bail, had appealed to the SC to lift travel ban imposed on him, but Justice Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada referred the case to the division bench, which will also hear the petition of the Office of the Attorney General regarding his bail.

According to Lamichhane's lawyer, Murari Prasad Sapkota, they have raised a number of issues in the latest application including travel ban, high amount in bail, unnecessary restrictions despite high bail amount, and media interviews of the girl, who has accused the cricketer of raping her multiple times. 'While the court has restricted Lamichhane from speaking in public, media have been publishing interviews of the girl. The law should not be different for two parties,' Sapkota said.

'The judge has asked the court to hear the issue on Sunday, and the division bench will discuss the application in the beginning,' he added. SC Spokesperson Bimal Paudel, however, said the court ordered for both petitions to be heard together on Sunday. The Office of the Attorney General had on January 31 filed a petition challenging Patan High Court's decision to release Lamichhane on bail.

The travel ban issue surfaced after Lamichhane made a spectacular comeback after being suspended for around five months and snapped up a wicket on the second ball he bowled at TU Stadium. He went on to grab three wickets each in the first three matches and four in the last game to help Nepal register maiden clean sweep in the ICC Cricket World Cup League-II. The Cricket Association of Nepal wanted Lamichhane to be in the team and started the process officially. It also succeeded in taking the national team to the prime minister's residence in Baluwatar yesterday where PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal congratulated cricketers for their emphatic victory at home and wished them luck for the remaining tri-series.

The national team will leave for the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for another series which also involves Papua New Guinea. The CAN has already announced the national team, leaving Lamichhane out.

Lamichhane was accused of raping a minor at a hotel in Kathmandu on August 21, on the eve of the national team's departure to Nairobi for five-match Twenty20 International and three-match One Day Series against Kenya.

After leading Nepal to 3-2 victory in the T20I series and claiming the player-of-the-series award in Nairobi, the globe-trotting cricketer left for the West Indies to play for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League.

But he had to cut short the CPL journey after the case surfaced and the CAN suspended Lamichhane following an arrest warrant from Nepal Police on September 8. The TIA Immigration Department also blacklisted Lamichhane, while Nepal Police issued a diffusion notice asking Interpol member countries to locate the cricketer.

Lamichhane rose to stardom after he was picked to play in the Indian Premier League by Delhi Daredevils in 2018. The first Nepali cricketer to play in the money-spinning IPL, Lamichhane never looked back and made a fairytale tour across the globe, as he was snapped up by Australia's Big Bash, Sri Lanka Premier League, CPL, Pakistan Premier League, T10 League in the United Arab Emirates, and England's The Hundred.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.