Kathmandu District Court indicted Nepal cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane guilty in the case of rape of a minor on Friday, December 29. Lamichhane was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in the Kathmandu hotel in August 2022 and was out on bail.
A bench of Judge Shishir Raj Dhakal concluded the week-long hearing on Friday and added the girl was not a minor at the time of the rape in August 2022. The court will decide a sentence on January 10, 2024, and the cricketer has reportedly been arrested.
The 23-year-old leg-spinner has been arguably Nepal's best cricketer since his international debut in May 2018. He has played over 100 international matches already and leads the bowling chart in both ODIs and T20Is. Notable, he is the fastest bowler to 100 ODI wickets in the cricket world to date.
He represented Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League 2018 and has also played T20 franchise cricket in the Big Bash League, Caribbean Premier League and Pakistan Super League.
Lamichhane was appointed as Nepal men's cricket team captain in December 2021. He was sacked from captaincy following a rape case allegation in September 2022 and was later arrested. However, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) allowed the cricketer to participate as their key spinner in overseas matches.
However, upon a review petition filed by Lamichhane, the Patan High Court released the player on INR 2 million bail in January 2023. Lamichhane's last ODI appearance came against India during the Asia Cup 2023 group-stage game in Pallekele on September 4.
More to follow...
