• Sportzyverse
• T20 World Cup 2024
• 05/22/2024
• 0 Comments

Star Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has faced a significant setback as he has been denied a USA visa for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Despite his recent legal victory, which cleared him of rape charges, the 23-year-old will not be able to travel with the Nepal team to the tournament slated to begin on June 1.

Legal Battle and Suspension

Lamichhane was previously suspended from all forms of cricket following the rape charges. However, after a prolonged legal battle, the Supreme Court’s verdict allowed him to return to the sport. This development raised hopes of his participation in the T20 World Cup.

Chatur Bahadur Chand, President of the Nepal Cricket Board, had expressed the board’s determination to ensure Lamichhane’s participation in the World Cup. Chand mentioned that the team could make changes to their squad until May 25 and were committed to including Lamichhane.

“He has been set free by the law, and we are happy for him. He was sentenced to jail by the lower courts, but today the high court set him free. We have removed the suspension as well, and we have time until the 25th to include him in the World Cup squad,” Chand stated.

https://x.com/CricCrazyJohns/status/1793245631701774637

Denied Visa and Apology

Despite these efforts, Lamichhane took to social media on May 22 to announce that the US Embassy in Nepal had denied his visa application. He highlighted a similar incident in 2019, when he was denied a visa for the Caribbean Premier League. Lamichhane expressed his disappointment and apologised to his supporters.

“And the @USEmbassyNepal did it again what they did back in 2019, they denied my Visa for the T-20 World Cup happening in USA and West Indies. Unfortunate. I am sorry to all the well wishers of Nepal Cricket,” Lamichhane tweeted.

Nepal is drawn in a challenging group alongside Bangladesh, Netherlands, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. They are set to play their first match against the Netherlands on June 4. Before the World Cup, the Rohit Paudel-led team will also play a friendly game against Canada on May 27.