Nepal court issues arrest warrant for cricket team captain Sandeep Lamichhane over alleged rape

A court in Nepal on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for national cricket team captain Sandeep Lamichhane after a 17-year-old girl alleged that he raped her in a hotel room in Kathmandu, police said.

According to the case filed at the Police Circle Gaushala here on Tuesday, 22-year-old Lamichhane allegedly took the girl to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur for a visit on August 21 and raped her in a hotel in Kathmandu the same night.

Kathmandu District Court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against Laimchhane, who has denied the charges.

Police have said that they are investigating the matter and collecting evidence, including CCTV footage, regarding the incident.

Sandeep Lamichhane suspended

Meanwhile, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in a statement said that it has suspended Lamichhane from the team to facilitate the investigation into the allegation labelled against him.

Lamichhane is currently playing in the Caribbean Premier League CPL. His first international breakthrough came when he became the first cricketer from Nepal to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he made his debut for the Delhi Capitals franchise in 2018.

He has been recently appointed the captain of Nepal's National Cricket team.

During a telephone conversation with the CAN officials, Lamichhane denied the charges, saying he is innocent, a media report here said, quoting the CAN officials.

He said he would return to Nepal after the League.