Nepali cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane’s hopes of playing in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 have taken another blow as he was denied a visa to fly to the United States of America.
The much-awaited tournament is scheduled to be played from June 1 to 29 in the United States and the West Indies. Nepal is in Group D along with Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh and Netherlands. Two of their group matches are scheduled to take place in the US, while the other two will take place in the Caribbean.
And it seems that Sandeep Lamichhane will not be able to play the matches in the United States, provided he is added to the Nepal team first. The player failed to make the cut for the 15-member team earlier this month as he was convicted of raping an 18-year-old woman and sentenced to eight years in prison.
He later appealed the prison sentence and was recently acquitted of the rape charge by the Patan High Court. He was also allowed to return to playing professional cricket with immediate effect. Soon after the court verdict, the Nepal Cricket Association also stated that the player would be considered for the T20 World Cup.
With teams allowed to make changes to their squad until May 25, it seems likely that Sandeep Lamichhane will be added to the Nepal squad. But even if he manages to find a place in the 15-member squad, it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to play at least the first two matches for Nepal.
Sandeep Lamichhane was denied visa:
On Tuesday (May 22), Sandeep Lamichhane himself took to social media to announce that the US embassy in Nepal had denied him a visa. The leg-spinner stated that this is the second time the US embassy has denied him a visa and wrote:
“And @USEmbassyNepal did again what they did in 2019 – they denied me visa for T-20 World Cup to be held in USA and West Indies. Unfortunate. Sorry to all Nepal Cricket supporters. @USAmbNepal.”
And @USEmbassyNepal did again what they did in 2019: they denied me a visa for the T-20 World Cup to be held in the US and West Indies. Unfortunate. Sorry to all Nepal Cricket supporters. @USAmbNepal @CricketNep. https://t.co/xdBhaY6G91
– Sandeep Lamichhane (@Sandeep25) May 22, 2024
As there is not much time left before the World Cup begins, it will not be too surprising if Sandeep Lamichhane is unable to play in at least the first two group matches for his team. Nepal will open their T20 World Cup campaign on June 4 in Dallas before taking on Sri Lanka in Florida. They will then leave the United States for Kingstown to play their final two group stage matches.
