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Sandeep Lamichhane, who got picked in the Nepalese squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, had his visa application rejected multiple times by the US Embassy in Nepal, not allowing him to travel to the USA for the ICC tournament. With that, the 23-year-old will not be playing in the upcoming T20 World Cup , which is set to begin on June 1.
The multiple visa denials from the US Embassy in Nepal came after Sandeep Lamichhane was acquitted of a rape case by the Patan High Court earlier this month, overturing the decsion of the Kathmandu District Court to sentence him to eight years in prison. Following the ruling of the court, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) lifted the two-year long suspension of Sandeep Lamichhane, opening the path for him to make the T20 World Cup 2024 squad of Nepal.
Why is Sandeep Lamichhane not playing T20 World Cup 2024?
After getting included in the Nepalese squad for the upcoming ICC tournament, Sandeep Lamichhane had applied for the visa on May 22, to make the trip to the USA. But after getting denied the first time by the US Embassy in Nepal, he tried again on Thursday, May 30, but the officials didn’t approve his application this time either.
Notably, the Nepalese cricket team has already arrived in the USA to participate in the T20 World Cup 2024. In their first warm-up match before the start of the tournament, they suffered a defeat at the hands of Canada on Monday, May 27, and just three days later, they are scheduled to take on the hosts on Thursday, May 30.
Moreover, Sandeep Lamichhane was the key player for Nepal in securing their spot in the T20 World Cup 2024, picking up the most wickets for the national team in the Asia Qualifiers.
