Nepali cricket’s poster boy and perhaps the country’s greatest international sportsman to date, 22-year-old Sandeep Lamichhane, is facing an uncertain future: a possible lengthy prison term that could derail his life and career. .
Lamichhane was a precocious talent.
When former national cricket coach Pubudu Dassanayake saw him bowl in the nets in Kyampachaur, Chitwan, in 2015, the Sri Lankan was immediately impressed and brought the 14-year-old to the national team’s training camp.
It didn’t take long for the Sri Lankan-born Canadian coach to spot the talent of the innocent-looking teenager. He was brought into the national set-up at a time when routes to the national team were largely blocked by conflicts in Nepal’s cricket governing body and lack of funds.
Young Lamichhane played his first match under the captaincy of Sharad Vesawkar when the national team was divided into four teams for a domestic tournament. He more than showed his potential by taking four wickets.
Lamichhane’s rise to fame is nothing short of a fairy tale. He thrilled the cricketing world the following January and February by grabbing a hat-trick against Ireland in the 2016 ICC U-19 World Cup, becoming only the fifth player in history to achieve the feat. He underlined his bowling credentials, finishing as the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps, just one behind leading wicket-taker Fritz Coetzee of Namibia.
Lamichhane made his international debut in the ICC World Cricket League 2 against Namibia in April 2016. After that, he became not only a key player of the national team but also the country’s most successful sports star, considering his claim in the world’s prominent money-making franchise cricket leagues.
Lamichhane’s fame and fortune grew after he crossed paths with former Australian captain Michael Clarke in the inaugural edition of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz in May 2016, where both played for Kowloon Cantons.
Clarke was impressed with the kid’s talent, bowling variations and fearless approach. The Australian invited Lamichhane to train at his academy and also play for Sydney Premier Cricket from Western Suburbs.
Lamichhane, then 17, became the first ever and so far only Nepalese player to win an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract after he was bought by coach Ricky’s Delhi Daredevils (later renamed Delhi Capitals). Ponting. Clarke’s association with his compatriot Ponting is believed to have played a role in Lamichhane’s recruitment to the IPL team. He stayed with the Capitals for three seasons.
In 2018, Lamichhane showed what he had to offer the cricketing world as he was involved in the last three matches of the IPL taking five wickets at an economy rate of 6.833.
Former national coach Jagat Tamata considers Lamichhane’s entry into the IPL one of the biggest achievements of Nepalese cricket. “That hat-trick against Ireland in the U-19 World Cup was one of the key factors in his selection for the IPL,” said Tamata, who then coached the U-19 team.
“His selection by Delhi Capitals not only opened the door for other big exclusive events but also helped put Nepal on the global cricket map. It inspired many young players to play the game and instilled the belief that they too could play on similar platforms in the future,” Tamata added.
Lamichhane then became Nepal’s only capped player, featuring in Australia’s Big Bash League, Caribbean Premier League, Abu Dhabi T10 League, Pakistan Super League, Global T20 (Canada), Afghanistan Premier League and Premier League in Bangladesh.
Apart from becoming the most sought-after cricket star in the country, Lamichhane broke several records. He is Nepal’s highest wicket-taker for twenty 20 internationals and one-day internationals with 85 scalps in 43 matches in the shortest format of the game and has taken 69 wickets in ODIs. He was promoted to national captain in December last year.
Lamichhane also holds the record for the best bowling figure by a Nepalese player, both in ODIs (5.1-0-11-6 vs Papua New Guinea) and T20Is (4-0-9-5 vs Kenya).
He is also the second fastest international player (22 matches) to reach the milestone of 50 runs in ODIs, only behind Sri Lanka’s Ajhanta Mendis. Likewise, Lamichhane is the third fastest to 50 wickets in T20Is (29 matches), behind Mendis and Ireland’s Mark Adair.
But after peaking in such a short time, the subsequent decline was also rapid.
His fortune would change drastically in the first week of September this year.
The 22-year-old’s fame collapsed like a house of cards after a minor girl filed a rape case against him in Kathmandu on September 5, at a time when Lamichhane was in Trinidad and Tobago playing in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
After the rape case, not only was he suspended by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), he was also made ineligible to play in the CPL as Jamaica Tallawahs suspended his contract. Lamichhane was arrested at the Tribhuvan International Airport after his re-entry into the country on October 6 and is currently in judicial custody. He has been charged under Article 219 of the Criminal Code (2074). If convicted, he faces 10 to 12 years in prison.
Though Lamichhane and his lawyers have dismissed the rape allegation as baseless, the police investigation concluded that the cricketer had indeed raped the minor and filed a case accordingly in the Kathmandu District Court.
A verdict is unlikely soon and cricket’s governing body will not give him permission to play until the court’s final decision. “If Lamichhane had pleaded guilty to all charges, the verdict could have come on the first day,” said lawyer Biraj Thapa. “But since he has denied the charges, it could take at least eight to 10 months, even if the court proceedings go quickly. In this case, the final hearing could take years.”
Meanwhile, the Kathmandu District Court on Friday remanded Lamichhane to judicial custody. The court order means that Lamichhane must now remain in prison until it makes a final decision on the case.
Whatever the final decision, Lamichhane faces almost insurmountable hurdles to revive his stalled cricket career.
Even if the court’s decision in his case comes soon and in his favor, it would probably be almost a year from now that he would be released. And, by then, Lamichhane will have been without bat or ball for nearly a year.
But former national cricketer Sanjam Regmi believes Lamichhane can make a comeback if he walks free in the next two years. “A rotator cuff can very well come back within six months. Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir marked a comeback after serving a five-year jail term,” Regmi said.
The fame and admiration Lamichhane received at a tender age was probably too much for a teenager to handle. He could not continue his formal education as he entered the national camp as a promising teenage cricketer. He was away from home, most of the time, and stayed with his teammates in hotels.
He earned millions from his lucrative contracts with franchises around the globe. But good manners were something Lamichhanes always lacked, say his contemporaries on condition of anonymity.
Lamichhane’s relationship with senior members of the team, including then captain Paras Khadka, soured in 2017. Cricket fans in Nepal were surprised when he suddenly disowned Khadka on Twitter. His relationship with senior players in the current national team, which he captained before the suspension, was strained.
“He was not on good terms with the senior players in the team,” said a member of the national team who played alongside Lamichhane.
Psychologist Tashi Gurung says fame and fast money can reach emotionally immature teenagers and young adults. “They can start to think that they are all-powerful and that they can get away with anything.”
Even on the cricket field, Lamichhane has been accused of showing arrogance. In November 2018, a group of spectators booed him during the Premier League in Pokhara after he argued with the referees. At that time, he was managing the Biratnagar Titans against the Chitwan Rhinos. Lamichhane was awarded a demerit point.
Talking to post at the time, his manager and national cricket team analyst Raman Shiwakoti had said, “He is young and has achieved a lot. There is some change in his attitude but he will learn to manage his star , over time. It’s hard for a young guy to understand all the practicalities and at the same time offload the burden of giving consistent performances.”
Former national cricket captain LB Chhetri also points out the flaws in CAN and other sports associations, in the way they treat players. “Sports associations are guardians of players, but those in Nepal can rarely provide that kind of guardianship. I would say that almost 98 percent of our sports associations fail in this task,” said Chhetri, adding that it is high time that sports teams start hiring psychological and behavioral counselors.
“[But]a player like Lamichhane, who has had an exposure on the global stage and is the face of Nepalese cricket, certainly should have been more responsible in his behaviour,” Chhetri said.
