Sandeep Lamichhane to join Nepal for CWC league as injury replacement

Sandeep Lamichhane. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Star bowler Sandeep Lamichhane has been given the green signal to join Nepal for the CWC League in the UAE. The 22-year-old will be flying out to join Nepal and will be available for the remainder of the ongoing tournament.

Lamichhane’s inclusion in the squad comes after Mousom Dhakal injured himself while practicing in the nets. Nepal will be playing back-to-back games against the UAE and Papua New Guinea, and with Lamichhane back in their squad, the Asian side give themselves a good chance to boost their chances and turn the tide in their favor.

“Sandeep Lamichhane will be traveling to the UAE to join Team Nepal as a replacement for injured Shyam (Mousom) Dhakal, who was injured during net practice. Mousom suffered a shoulder injury while batting in the net practice session on February 28, 2023,” Cricket Association of Nepal announced the replacement on Twitter.

Nepal have been finding ways to bring Lamichhane back into their squad after he was let out on bail following a three-month jail stint on charges of sexual coercion. The conditions of his bail did not allow him to travel out of Nepal until he was recently given permission to travel to the UAE. His inclusion in the team is now subject to approval by ICC.

Lamichhane could be influential for Nepal if he is included

Nepal have been struggling in the tournament so far and seem to have been dearly missing the services of Lamichhane. As they gear up to play the UAE and Papua New Guinea soon, they will be hoping to include Lamichhane in their squad and bail themselves out of the crisis situation.

Currently, Nepal are ranked sixth in the CWC League 2 standings with 28 points from 29 matches. Only Papua New Guinea stand below them with seven points from 30 games.

The top three teams from the Cricket World Cup League 2 will advance to the World Cup Qualifier scheduled to be played in June and July in Zimbabwe. While Scotland and Oman have already qualified, Namibia currently sit at the third position.