KATHMANDU, AUGUST 27
Former Nepal national cricket team skipper Sandeep Lamichhane is all set to fly to Pakistan on Monday to participate in the Asia Cup after the court postponed the hearing on his case until next month.
Lamichhane, who did not travel to Pakistan with the team last week due to the hearing on a rape case, will join the squad for the premier tournament of the region which is participated in by five full members of the International Cricket Council and a qualifier. Nepal had earned the berth in the Asia Cup as the winners of the ACC Premier Cup held in Kathmandu in May.
Nepal were drawn along side India and Pakistan in Group A handing them their dream matches, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B. Nepal will face Pakistan in the opening match on August 30 in Multan. The team will then travel to Sri Lanka to play against India on September 4 in Kandy.
Lamichhane's lawyer Saroj K Ghimire told the Himalayan Times that Sandeep would leave for Pakistan on Monday morning to participate in the Asia Cup. Lamichhane's hearing was scheduled in the Kathmandu District Court on Sunday.
However, the hearing could not be held after the bench of Justice Prakash Prasad Pandit couldn't get enough time to hear the case. Furthermore, the hearing of the case has been postponed till September 7.
"Sandeep Lamichhane will participate in the scheduled games and return to Nepal for the next hearing," confirmed lawyer Ghimire.
"As the Supreme Court has allowed Lamichhane to fly, there are no legal barriers for him to participate in the tournament. However, If there is a situation for Nepal to play in the next stage, he will have to return to Nepal for his hearing," he added.
Lamichhane's high-flying career took a nosedive after a 17-year-old girl filed an FIR at Gaushala Police Circle accusing the cricketer of raping her multiple times at a hotel in Kathmandu on August 21 last year, on the eve of 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 also 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 Cricket Association of Nepal suspended Lamichhane from the national team following an arrest warrant from Nepal Police on September 8. The TIA Immigration Department also blacklisted Lamichhane.
Lamichhane rose to stardom after he was picked up 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 August 28, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
