Nepal's cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane received an eight-year jail sentence from a Kathmandu court for rape on Wednesday, as reported by the Kathmandu Post.
Last month, a single-judge bench of the Kathmandu District Court found the Nepal legspinner guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman, and on January 10, the sentence was officially declared.
The court imposed a fine of Rs300,000 (approximately US2m260) and mandated Lamichhane to pay Rs200,000 (approximately US1,506) in compensation to the victim.
In early September of 2023, Lamichhane, who was then the captain of Nepal, faced suspension from the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) following an arrest warrant issued in Kathmandu related to the case. This development came after a complaint had been lodged against Lamichhane at a Kathmandu police station.
While participating in CPL 2022 with Jamaica Tallawahs in the West Indies, Lamichhane was obliged to leave the tournament immediately upon the announcement of his suspension. Upon his return to Kathmandu in early October, he was taken into custody.
Prior to his arrest, Lamichhane had expressed on Facebook his commitment to "fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence," referring to the allegations as a "conspiracy and wrongful allegation."
In February 2023, Lamichhane reappeared on the Nepal side amidst protests from rights groups for a Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series at home against Namibia and Scotland.
However, during the games, opposing players refrained from shaking hands with him. Although he was not initially chosen for Nepal's squad in the Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series in Dubai in early 2023, he later joined the team as an injury replacement.
The 23-year-old continued to represent Nepal in subsequent events, including the ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe in June-July and the ODI Asia Cup in August-September of the previous year.
Lamichhane made history as Nepal's inaugural cricketer to compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he debuted for the Delhi Capitals in 2018.
The leg-spinner was highly sought after in prominent T20 leagues worldwide, including Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and the CPL.
He holds the distinction of being the world’s second-fastest bowler to claim 50 ODI wickets and the third-fastest to achieve 50 T20I wickets.
Lamichhane’s most recent appearance in international cricket was in August 2023 during a T20I match against Kenya.