The Kathmandu Post reports that Nepali cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane was found guilty of rape on Wednesday and sentenced to eight years in prison.
This month, a single-judge panel of the Kathmandu District Court found the Nepalese leg-spinner guilty of raping an eighteen-year-old woman. He was formally sentenced on January 10.
The victim received a court order to pay a fine of 300,000 rupees (about $2,260) and compensation of 200,000 rupees (about $1,506).
Soon after Lamichhane’s arrest warrant was issued in Kathmandu in early September 2023, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) threatened to sack the team captain. This happened as a result of receiving a complaint against Lamichhane at the Kathmandu police station.
Sandeep Lamichhane was forced to leave the CPL 2022 competition while competing for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the West Indies after learning of his suspension. He was arrested when he returned to Kathmandu in early October.
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Shortly before he was detained, Lamichhane had said on Facebook that he would “fully cooperate with all stages of the investigation and fight the legal battle to prove his innocence,” describing the charges as “conspiracy and false accusation.”
When Lamichhane unexpectedly joined the Nepali team for the home tri-series in the Cricket World Cup League 2 against Namibia and Scotland in February this year, rights organizations raised objections.
However, during the games, opponents avoided shaking hands with him. Despite not being selected in Nepal’s squad for the Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series in Dubai in early 2023, he was eventually included in the squad as an injured substitute.
The 23-year-old continued to play for Nepal in several tournaments, including the ODI Asia Cup in August and September last year and the ODI World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June and July of the same year.
Sandeep Lamichhane became the first cricketer from Nepal to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he joined the Delhi Capitals in 2018.
Leg-spinners were in huge demand for major T20 competitions around the world, including the CPL, Pakistan Super League (PSL), and Australia’s Big Bash League. (BBL).
As per the bowling stats, he is the third-fastest bowler in the world to reach 50 T20I wickets and the second-fastest bowler in the world to reach 50 ODI wickets.
Lamichhane’s most recent participation for the national cricket team came in the August Twenty20 International match against Kenya.
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