Nepal cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane to surrender to authorities and fight against rape allegations

Nepal cricket star Sandeep Lamichhane has confirmed he will be returning to his country next week to fight the rape allegations levelled against him. Lamichhane has been accused of raping a minor in a hotel room in Kathmandu. The victim had launched a complaint against him last month following which a Nepal court issued a warrant against Lamichhane.

Nepal Cricket removed the star leg-spinner as the captain of the national team after the allegations surfaced and he was also suspended with immediate effect. Lamichhane was playing in the Caribbean Premier League at the time a complaint was filed against him and had vowed to return home after pulling out of the tournament.

However, the leg-spinner later claimed he had to delay his return to the country as he was not in the right mental and physical space after the allegations levelled against him. Nepal police, meanwhile, sought the help of Interpol to trace the star cricketer amid his failure to report back to the country after the arrest warrant against him.

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However, Lamichhane has now said he will be arriving in Nepal on Thursday (October 06) and will surrender to the authorities. The Nepal cricket team star reiterated he is innocent and vowed to fight a legal battle against the allegations.

“With great hope and strength, I hereby confirm that I am reaching to my home country, Nepal on this 6th October 2022 and will submit myself to the authority of Nepal to fight a legal battle against false allegation,” Lamicchane said in a Facebook post.

“I hereby reiterate that I am INNOCENT and I have complete non-shaken faith in justice system. I firmly believe over all the law enforcement authorities and honorable courts on their fair trial and adjudication and I am just hopeful to get justice at the earliest.

My dear well wishers I assure you all that I am innocent and I have not wronged you. I have recovered from unpleasant situation I went through and I have prepared myself to go through this ordeal to prove myself innocent and victim of conspiracy. I am sure all wrongful allegation charged against me will be unfolded by the span of time,” he added.

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Lamichhane is one of the most sought-after cricketers in Nepal having tasted decent success in T20 leagues around the world. He was the first Nepalese player to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after he was picked up by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction in 2018.

However, he didn’t get many chances with the team and was released by the Capitals after playing nine matches across two seasons, picking up 13 wickets. The 22-year-old has played 30 ODIs and 44 T20Is in his international career so far.