Sandeep Lamichhane, a former captain of the Nepal national cricket team, was born on August 2, 2000. Lamichhane, a right-arm leg spin bowler, has competed for Twenty20 franchise teams all over the world, including the Lahore Qalandars of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the Hobart Hurricanes of the Big Bash League, and the Delhi Capitals of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Both in ODIs and T20Is, he has taken the most wickets for Nepal ever. When playing for a World XI team against the West Indies, Lamichhane made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut. He made history by becoming the first cricketer to represent a combined squad in a T20 international debut. Lamichhane participated in Nepal’s inaugural One Day International (ODI) game against the Netherlands in August 2018 as one of the eleven cricketers that took the field. Gyanendra Malla was replaced as the national team’s captain by Lamichhane in December 2021. After a kid accused Lamichhane of rape, the Cricket Association of Nepal removed him from captaincy and suspended him on September 8, 2022.
Younger years and personal lives
On August 2, 2000, Sandeep Lamichhane was born in Aruchaur, Syangja, Gandaki Province. He looked up to Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne as cricket heroes when he was younger. Then he relocated to the Chitwan district and began training at the Raju Khadka-run Chitwan Cricket Academy. Sandeep was instructed to bowl in the nets during a visit from the captain Paras Khadka and the coach of Nepal Pubudu Dasanayake and was then chosen for the under-19 national training camp. When he was 14 years old, Pubudu Dasanayake was the one who first recognized his talent.
Additionally, Lamichhane sings. His YouTube channel contains the songs and music videos he uploads. From the album Pratikshya-the Waiting, Lamichhane debuted his first single, Udash thiyo, in July 2018.
The initial career of Sandeep Lamichhane
On April 16, 2016, against Namibia, Lamichhane made his List A debut in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship. He was selected for the Nepal under-19 cricket team for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup before making his List A debut. He took a hat-trick against Ireland Under-19s in their second game, becoming the fifth bowler in under-19 World Cup history to do so. With stats of 5/27, he was selected as the game’s man of the match.
He finished the event with 14 wickets at an average of 17.07 and a strike rate of 21.9, placing him second in the competition for wickets taken.
He was chosen to represent the Kowloon Cantons team in the inaugural Hong Kong T20 Blitz in 2016 by former English-born Hong Kong cricketer Scott McKechnie. Scott McKechnie scouted Lamichchane for the 2016 Hong Kong Blitz competition after being pleased with the youngster’s performance during the MCC tour of Nepal in November 2016, when Scott himself was twice defeated by his spin in the same match. Over the course of the three games against the visiting Marleybone Cricket Club, Lamichchane managed to take seven wickets.
In fact, Lamichhane’s breakthrough came at the Hong Kong T20 Blitz, which led to a meteoric rise for him in his early years after he was discovered for his bowling prowess and even had the opportunity to share a dressing room with Michael Clarke, the captain of the World Cup-winning team.
Former Australian captain Michael Clarke wrote to Lamichhane in September 2016 to invite him to join the Western Suburbs District Cricket Club in Sydney. He was voted the game’s MVP after bowling 5/8 in the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup, which held Malaysia’s under-19 team to a score of 45.
T20 professional cricket
Lamichhane was listed as one of the players up for auction for the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) in January 2018. He was acquired by Delhi Daredevils, making him the first cricketer from Nepal to sign a deal for the IPL. The signing, according to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has improved relations between India and Nepal.
Sandeep Lamichhane at IPL(AFP)
He became the first player from Nepal to be selected in the Caribbean Premier League when he was chosen in March 2018 to play for St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots in that league.
Sandeep Lamichhane at CPL
Lamichhane became the first cricketer from Nepal to compete in the Indian Premier League when he made his senior Twenty20 debut with the Delhi Capitals in May 2018. In his first game, he grabbed a wicket for 25 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had a bowling average of 16.40 and five wickets in three games during the competition.
Lamichane was chosen to represent the Montreal Tigers in the inaugural Global T20 Canada competition in June 2018. He had an average of 19.62 while taking eight wickets in five games throughout the competition. He was selected for Nangarhar’s team in the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League competition in September 2018 and went on to play in one match there.
He was the first cricketer from Nepal to participate in the Big Bash League (BBL) when the Melbourne Stars signed him in October 2018. After the Bangladesh Premier League draft for the 2018–19 season, he was named to the Sylhet Sixers team later that month. Lamichhane was selected for the Lahore Qalandars team to compete in the fourth Pakistan Super League in November 2018. The International Cricket Council (ICC) designated him one of eight players to watch in March 2019 in advance of the Indian Premier League competition. The following month, Lamichhane claimed that playing in the IPL had “changed his life” and that he was aware of the steep learning curve involved.
He was chosen to represent the Toronto Nationals franchise side in the Global T20 Canada event in June 2019. He was included on the Jamaica Tallawahs roster for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League in July of that year. He was signed by the Hobart Hurricanes in November 2020 for the 2020–21 Big Bash League season. Lamichhane was recruited by Worcestershire in March 2021 to participate in the 2021 t20 Blast in England. He was let go by Worcestershire in June 2021 though after being refused a work visa for the United Kingdom. He was also scheduled to participate in the first iteration of The Hundred in 2021, but due to visa complications, he was unable to do so and Tabraiz Shamsi took his place. He was acquired by the Dambulla Giants in July 2022 to play in the Third Lanka Premier League.
A global career of Sandeep Lamichhane
Lamichhane was chosen to represent Nepal in the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two competition in January 2018. For his bowling statistics of 4/18 in 8.2 overs during their opening encounter against Namibia, he was named man of the match. In order to win the game by a single wicket, he and Basanta Regmi contributed to a critical final wicket partnership of 18 runs. He took 3/30 in the third game against the United Arab Emirates, which assisted in bringing the opposition’s total down to 114 runs. He recorded his first five-wicket haul in List A cricket in the fourth game against Kenya (5/20), and he once more received the Player of the Match award.
Taking the most wickets in the competition with 17 in six games, Lamichhane won the ICC World Cricket League Division Two Player of the Tournament title for his economical bowling.
Lamichhane was listed as one of the 10 players to watch by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in February 2018 in advance of the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier competition. The International Cricket Council afterward designated Lamichhane as the squad of Nepal’s rising star.
He was included in the ICC Rest of the World XI team in May 2018 for the Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge match at Lord’s against the West Indies. In the game, he played his first T20I.
He was included in the Nepalese team for their ODI series against the Netherlands in July 2018. After attaining ODI status during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, these were Nepal’s first ODI games. He was identified by the ICC as Nepal’s main player prior to the games. He played his first T20 International for Nepal against the Netherlands in the third game of the 2018 MCC Tri-Nation Series in July. On August 1st, 2018, he played his first ODI for Nepal against the Netherlands.
He was included on Nepal’s roster for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier competition in August of that year. He was selected for the Nepal team in the Eastern sub-region group in October 2018 for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Asia Qualifier competition. With 24 dismissals in six games, he was the tournament’s top wicket-taker.
He was included in Nepal’s roster for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier competition in June 2019. On November 6, 2019, while the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was touring Nepal, he made his first-class debut for Nepal against them. Lamichhane earned his first five-wicket haul in an ODI on February 12, 2020, against the United States as part of the 2020 Nepal Tri-Nation Series. His career-best stats of 6/16 held the USA to their joint-lowest ODI total ever for 35. Lamichhane became the first bowler for Nepal to record 100 wickets in Twenty20 cricket on February 29, 2020, against Malaysia in the Eastern Region group match in the 2020 Asia Cup Qualifier. He was one of the 18 cricketers who received a central contract from the Cricket Association of Nepal in September 2020.
Lamichhane received the ICC Player of the Month award from the International Cricket Council on October 11, 2021.
After Gyanendra Malla and former vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee were fired for disciplinary reasons in December 2021, Lamichhane was named the new captain of the Nepal national side by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).
Allegations of rape
On September 6, 2022, a 17-year-old girl reported Lamichhane to the police for allegedly raping her on the evening of August 21 in a Kathmandu hotel room. The hotel’s CCTV footage showed Lamichhane sleeping there with the girl, according to the police. The Kathmandu District Court authorized the arrest of Lamichhane on September 8 in order to conduct additional research. He was scheduled to represent the Jamaica Tallawahs in the 2022 Caribbean Premier League at the time the arrest warrant was filed against him. He withdrew from the Caribbean Premier League shortly after the news of the rape charges against him broke, but he maintained his innocence. Lamichhane was thus removed from the national team by Nepal’s cricket governing body, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). Through Interpol, Nepali police have issued a diffusion notice for Lamichhane. Lamichhane was added to the Interpol police wanted list as a result of the notice.
Sandeep Lamichhane during rape case.
On October 6, 2022, Lamichhane turned himself into Nepal police and was detained by them. In response to a review petition submitted by Lamichhane, a combined bench of justices from the Patan High Court, Dhruva Raj Nanda and Ramesh Dahal, granted the cricketer’s release on a Rs 2 million bond.
Lamichhane was reinstated to the Nepal national cricket team following his release on bail. In addition, he received authorization to travel abroad to compete in the cricket World Cup Qualifiers. The Kathmandu District Court is still hearing the case against him.
Honors of Sandeep Lamichhane
- NNIPA Best Youth Player of the Year: 2017
- NCCS-CPAN Cricketer of the Year: 2018
- ICC Men’s Player of the Month for September 2021
Sandeep Lamichhane at TU Cricket Ground.
Estimated Net Worth
One of the wealthiest and most well-known cricket players is Sandeep Lamichhane. According to our research, Sandeep Lamichhane has a net worth of $5 million, as reported by Forbes, Wikipedia, and Business Insider.