Nepali cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane quits Caribbean Premier League after court issues arrest warrant for him in rape case

A day after Nepal police opened an investigation into the rape complaint filed against Nepal national cricket team captain Sandeep Lamichhane, the cricketer has taken to social media to qualify all the allegations against him of baseless. He also said he would return to his country and take time off from the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

CPL is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament taking place in the Caribbean. “I am innocent. I have decided to take a leave of absence from the CPL and return to my country in a few days. I am ready to face all these baseless allegations. I hope the law will do the same to everyone,” he said in a Facebook post on Sept. 8.

“I am innocent. I have decided to take a leave of absence from CPL and return to my country in a few days. I am ready to face all these baseless allegations,” says captain of Nepal national cricket team Sandeep Lamichhane in connection with a rape complaint against him. https://t.co/RoEKqbceEX pic.twitter.com/fLByBxHU1d

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2022

It also comes a day after the Nepal Cricket Association (CAN) suspended Lamichhane for being charged in the rape case filed by a 17-year-old girl. The girl in the complaint mentioned that the cricketer raped her in a hotel room in Kathmandu. She said Lamichhane took the girl to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur on August 21 and raped her the same day at the hotel.

Based on the complaint lodged with the Gaushala police circle, the Kathmandu court issued an arrest warrant against the cricketer. Police said they are investigating the matter and obtaining all relevant evidence in the case, including hotel CCTV footage.

Lamichhane is currently playing in the Caribbean Premier League in the West Indies with the Jamaica Tallawahs team. However, his first international break came in 2018 when he became the first Nepali cricketer to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Capitals franchise. The cricketer, however, said on Friday that he would quit the CPL and return to his country.