Nepal cricket body suspends Sandeep Lamichhane after conviction in rape case

Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was on Thursday suspended by the country's cricket body after being sentenced to 8 years in prison for raping an 18-year-old woman.

The Kathmandu District Court announced the verdict on Wednesday and Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) issued a statement, responding to the development.

"We inform you that Sandeep Lamichhane has been suspended from any kind of domestic and international cricket activities as he has been convicted and sentenced," the CAN said.

A single-judge bench also imposed a Rs 3,00,000 fine on the 23-year-old, besides ordering him to pay a compensation of Rs 2,00,000 to the victim.

Lamichhane's lawyer Saroj Ghimire was quoted as saying by 'The Kathmandu Post' that the cricketer "will appeal the decision in a higher court." In September last year, an arrest warrant was issued by the Kathmandu police for Lamichhane, leading to his suspension as the Nepal captain by the Cricket Association of Nepal.

Although he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League for Jamaica Tallawahs, the franchise released him with immediate effect, and he returned to Kathmandu, where he was arrested.

However, Lamichhane claimed innocence before his arrest and called the allegations a "conspiracy".

Lamichhane has scalped over 100 wickets in more than 103 white-ball matches for Nepal.

He has also had a brief stint in the Indian Premier League with the Delhi Capitals between 2018-20, bagging 13 wickets in nine fixtures.