NEWS
Follow UsSandeep Lamichhane will join Nepal's T20 World Cup squad in the West Indies after missing matches in the USA because his visa was denied, the cricket association said on June 10 (Monday).
Nepal had originally wanted to select former skipper Lamichhane, who had an eight-year sentence for rape quashed on appeal, but his US visa was denied twice despite intense lobbying.
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.
Legspinner Lamichhane, 23, was once the poster boy for cricket in Nepal, but was convicted for raping a young woman in a Kathmandu hotel in 2022. That was quashed last month.
"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," Lamichhane posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"To all our cricket fans and people back home everywhere who prayed for me, I will forever be grateful for your blessings."
His social media posts with the announcement were welcomed by fans and filled with congratulatory messages.
Nepal lost to the Netherlands by six wickets in their World Cup opener. They play Sri Lanka on June 11 (Tuesday) in Florida, before group matches in the West Indies against South Africa and Bangladesh.
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