Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane to return home following sexual assault charges

Nepal lef-spinner and former captain Sandeep Lamichanne hopes to return home soon, and spoke about his mental health, after he was recently accused of a sexual assault by a minor. As reported earlier this month, an arrest warrant had been issued against the cricketer over a rape case issued by a 17-year-old girl.

He was in the West Indies at the time for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2022). He was suspended by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and was subsequently released by Jamaica Tallawahs at the CPL.

The Nepal Police meanwhile is in the initiation process to issue an Interpol warrant for his arrest.

"It is my good fortune to be included in the national cricket team at the age of 16. It was not something that could be earned by my little hard work. I have always moved forward with the desire to keep Nepal's name high in the cricket world. I feel proud to make the name of Nepal known through my hard work," Laimchanne said in a video posted on Facebook.

The 22-year-old further spoke how the recent occurrences took a toll on his mental well-being.

"I came to know about the complaint filed against me and the false accusation of rape. This has not only affected and damaged my mental health but physical health as well."

"All these things affected me mentally on the one hand and, on the other hand, I had to go through physical illness. Therefore, I decided to keep myself in isolation for some time.

"I have been mentally and physically affected by the portrayal of a criminal based on false allegations, I have been brought back to normal with the advice of doctors and my health is gradually improving and I am planning to return to Nepal as soon as possible to defend the false complaint against me."

Lamichanne has represented the national team in 30 ODIs and 43 T20Is, having bagged 63 and 83 wickets in the respective formats ever since having made his international debut in 2018.

In the nine IPL games he played for the Delhi Capitals across the 2018 and 2019 editions, Lamichanne bagged 13 wickets at 22.46.