Last Update: February 11, 2023, 09:41 IST
Sandeep Lamichhane claims innocence after being accused of raping a minor (Twitter Image)
Sandeep Lamichhane from Nepal has been accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a hotel room in Kathmandu last August.
Star Nepalese cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, who is out on bail while facing rape charges, will pitch in the upcoming season World Cup League 2 Tri-Series, Cricket Nepal has announced
Lamichhane is accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a hotel room in Kathmandu last August.
The Nepal Cricket Association in a post on its official Twitter account revealed the 22-year-old’s inclusion in the squad for the home series against Namibia and Scotland from February 14-21.
The decision was widely expected after the star spin bowler’s suspension was lifted earlier this month.
“The board had taken disciplinary action against him and suspended him. The new decision to lift the suspension will allow him to play the game,” Nepal Cricket Association president Chatur Bahadur Chand told AFP on February 1.
A day earlier, Nepal’s attorney general appealed against the decision to release Lamichhane on a bond of two million rupees ($15,400). He was in custody since his arrest at the Kathmandu airport on October 6.
“We have asked the Supreme Court to reverse the High Court’s decision to release him on bail,” Sanjeev Raj Regmi, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, told AFP at the time.
“A person accused of any criminal offense punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding three years shall remain in custody.”
Lamichhane was a poster boy for the rise of cricket in Nepal, which gained One Day International status in 2018.
His big break came when he was bought by the Delhi Capitals in 2018 to make money in the Indian Premier League, and he has been Nepal’s most sought-after cricketer ever since.
Authorities had issued an arrest warrant against him in September while he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League.
Lamichhane, who maintained his innocence after the arrest warrant was issued, was suspended as Nepal’s cricket captain.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)