Kathmandu District Court convicts Sandeep Lamichhane of rape, jail term for Nepal cricketer to be determined soon

Former Nepal captain Sandeep Lamichhane has been convicted of the crime of rape by the Kathmandu District Court. The court will decide the jail term for the leg-spinner at the next hearing.

Lamichhane is one of the top spinners in Asia. He is the only Nepalese cricketer to have played in the IPL. Apart from IPL, the leg-spinner has also participated in the Big Bash League, Caribbean Premier League, T10 League, Global T20 Canada, and Men's Hundred.

The 23-year-old seemed to have a bright future ahead, but his career got derailed because of a rape case. Kathmandu District Attorney’s office filed a case against him, accusing the cricketer of raping a 17-year-old girl on August 21 last year.

The girl filed a case against him on September 6. Subsequently, Lamichhane was arrested.

Lamichhane was released via bail earlier this year, but a single-judge bench of Shishir Raj Dhakal passed the order of his conviction today. The bench, crucially, concluded that the girl was not a minor at the time of the rape, and the court will decide the cricketer's jail term at the next hearing.

Sandeep Lamichhane is currently captaining PARSA team in Nepal Pro Club Championship

The Nepal Pro Club Championship tournament is underway right now, with Sandeep Lamichhane being the skipper of the PARSA team. Playing under Lamichhane's captaincy, PARSA secured a place in the final of the tournament by winning the semifinal against NAC earlier today.

The final is scheduled to happen tomorrow afternoon, where PARSA will take on Nepal Police Club. The game will begin at 1 PM IST in Birgunj.

PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars signed Lamichhane as their Platinum Pick for the 2024 season. It seems unlikely now that the spinner will turn up for the Qalandars in the PSL 2024 tournament.