Former Nepal cricket captain Sandeep Lamichhane was convicted of rape on Friday after a repeatedly delayed trial that had left him free to proceed his sporting profession.
Lamichhane, 23, was as soon as the poster boy for the rise of cricket in Nepal, and the leg spinner’s onfield success had boosted the game’s profile within the Himalayan republic.
Final 12 months he was accused of raping a 17-year-old woman in a Kathmandu lodge however was freed on bail in January and returned to the squad to compete in worldwide tournaments.
His lawyer Saroj Ghimire instructed AFP {that a} courtroom had convicted Lamichhane on Friday.
“His sentence will probably be determined within the subsequent listening to,” he added.
District courtroom official Ramu Sharma confirmed the decision to AFP.
“The occasion was not consensual,” he stated.
When authorities issued an arrest warrant, Lamichhane initially didn’t return from Jamaica, the place he was enjoying within the Caribbean Premier League.
He was dismissed as nationwide captain and arrested final 12 months, however Nepal lifted his enjoying ban after he was freed on bail.
This allowed him to stay within the nationwide crew, together with for the World Cup qualifiers and September’s Asia Cup.
Lamichhane has constantly denied the cost in opposition to him and loved sturdy public assist regardless of the accusations.
“You’re the hero of Nepali cricket crew be sturdy we will perceive your drawback maintain your self,” one fan wrote on his official Fb web page in October.
Tons of of cheering cricket followers welcomed him when he first returned to the sector in February.
However his continued enjoying profession has additionally sparked anger and precipitated quite a few Nepalis to disavow the crew.
Scotland’s cricketers refused to shake palms with him after their matches throughout a world event in Dubai.
The case in opposition to Lamichhane took greater than a 12 months to conclude after repeated delays on procedural grounds.
Cricket doesn’t get pleasure from the identical adulation in mountainous Nepal because it does elsewhere in South Asia.
Nevertheless it has been rising in recognition, with Nepal given one-day worldwide standing by the world governing physique in 2018.
Lamichhane has been a significant a part of this rise as essentially the most sought-after Nepali cricketer in profitable leagues around the globe.
The leg spinner’s large break got here when he was snapped up for the profitable Indian Premier League, the world’s richest cricket event, in 2018.
About 2,300 rape circumstances had been reported in Nepal within the 2021-22 fiscal 12 months, based on police, however rights employees say many extra assaults go unreported.
Solely a handful of ladies in Nepal spoke out through the #MeToo motion, and people accused have confronted little or no repercussions over the allegations.