Nepal's ex-captain Sandeep Lamichhane sentenced to 8-year jail in rape case

Former Nepal cricket captain Sandeep Lamichhane was sentenced to 8-year imprisonment in a rape case by a single-judge bench of Justice Shishir Raj Dhakal of the Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday, January 10. 

The court also asked Lamichhane to duly compensate the victim. It also put penalties on the cricketer, according to news agency ANI. The court had earlier declared the Nepal leg-spinner as a convict on December 29, 2023.

Lamichhane, 23, is one of the most famous faces of Nepal cricket, having represented the country in all big cricket leagues, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), Big Bash League (BBL) Australia, PSL (Pakistan Super League), The Hundred (England), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in the West Indies and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). 

Also Read: The entire timelines of Sandeep Lamichhane case

The case in which Lamichhanee has been convicted dates back to September 2022, when a 17-year-old girl alleged Lamichhane of raping her in a hotel room in Kathmandu.

The case stretched on from Kathmandu District Court to Patan High Court, which allowed the cricketer to move out of jail on a bail bond of 2 million Nepali Rupees.

However, once the case went back to Kathmandu District Court in November this year, the court convicted him of rape and reserved the verdict, which was announced today.

Lamichhane was sentenced under Section 219 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017. According to the Kathmandu District Attorney General Officer (DGAO), the petitioners' demand was for 12 years imprisonment.

Lamichhane has denied the rape allegation in his statements to the DGAO and police.

What has Sandeep Lamichhane achieved in cricket so far?

Lamichhane, regarded as one of the prodigies of the game, is the second fastest to take 50 ODI wickets and third fastest to take 50 T20I wickets. So far, he has appeared in 144 T20s, taking 206 wickets at an astonishing average of 17.44. His last international appearance in a major tournament came in the Asia Cup against India in Palekkele.

Lamichhane's Career

Batting Career Summary
	M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100	200	50
ODI	51	35	8	376	35	13.93	454	82.82	0	0	0
T20I	52	19	8	64	16	5.82	71	90.14	0	0	0
IPL	9	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bowling Career Summary
	M	Inn	B	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Econ	Avg	SR	5W
ODI	51	50	2774	2024	112	6/11	6/11	4.38	18.07	24.77	3
T20I	52	52	1175	1233	98	5/9	5/9	6.3	12.58	11.99	1
IPL	9	9	210	292	13	3/36	3/36	8.34	22.46	16.15	0