Nepal's star leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane not permitted to travel abroad

The star Nepali cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane has been excluded from the country's 15-member squad that is touring the United Arab Emirates for the Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series, which will commence from February 27, 2023.

Sandeep Lamichhane was reportedly accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in a hotel room in Kathmandu. Lamichhane is currently out on anticipatory bail, and he had appealed to the apex court to grant him permission to travel abroad to play cricket, which has been refused.

Supreme Court rules against Sandeep Lamichhane's plea

The Supreme Court has decided to act against the demands of the 22-year-old. A single bench of Justice Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada said that it was extremely neccessary to undergo a final hearing on Lamichhane's case, referring to the gravity of the crime as extremely heinous.

“It is deemed necessary to conduct hearing of the petitions from Lamichhane and the Attorney General’s Office jointly from a division bench,” read the ruling from Khatiwada’s bench. Bimal Poudel, spokesperson for the Supreme Court, said the final hearing will start on Sunday, February 26, 2023.

The Attorney General's office has challenged the decision of the Supreme Court. The division bench is yet to pass a verdict on whether Lamichhane should be permitted to travel abroad and whether he needs to be kept in custody while investigation against him ensues. 

Nepal will be taking part in the CWC League 2 tri-series, which will also feature the UAE and Papua New Guinea. Speaking about Lamichhane's recent outings in cricket, another CWC League 2 tri-series was conducted in Nepal the previous week, in which the spinner had taken part. It included Nepal, Scotland and Namibia.

Nepal had been the most successful team in that outing, courtesy of a brilliant bowling display from Lamichhhane. The leg spinner ended up picking thirteen wickets in the contests. Nepal ended up winning all of the four matches in that series.

Lamichhane's participation in that series was not at all welcomed by the fans and opponents. Notably, the Scottish players had refused to shake hands with the leg spinner. Moreover, Namibian players only preferred to have fist bumps with the Nepal cricketer during the tri-series.

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