With his acquittal in the rape case, leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane is set to go to America and West Indies for the ICC T20 World Cup.
Acquitted of rape charges by the High Court, Patan on Wednesday, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) started the process to send Sandeep to the Nepali squad for the World Cup.
As Sandeep's name was not registered with the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier, it was not certain whether he would be allowed to play in the World Cup.
The ICC registered Sandeep’s name in the team on Thursday paving the way for him to play the World Cup. He will probably fly to America on Saturday.
Earlier, as Sandeep's case was going on, the CAN had announced a 15-member team apart from Sandeep and sent it to the ICC.
"The ICC gave permission to keep Sandeep in the team. As Sandeep is in the final 15-member squad, another player will be kept with the team at CAN's expense. The 16th player will serve as a reserve in case of injuries,” a CAN source said.
The CAN, the official governing body of cricket in Nepal, on January 11, 2024, suspended former captain Lamichhane from both domestic and international cricket matches.
Lamichhane, who was suspended immediately after Kathmandu District Court convicted him of rape, is returning to the cricket ground almost after five months.
T20 World Cup is scheduled to start in America and West Indies from June 1.
Nepal is in group ‘D’ alongside South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Netherlands. Nepal will play Netherlands on June 4.
Similarly, Nepal will take on Sri Lanka on June 11, South Africa on June 14 and lock horns with Bangladesh on June 16.
Along with captain Rohit Kumar Paudel, the Nepal team includes Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sandeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal and Kamal Singh Airee.
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