Nepal court finds former cricket captain Sandeep Lamichhane guilty of rape

Court in Nepal finds Lamichhane guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman at a Kathmandu hotel in 2022.

A court in Nepal has found the country’s highest profile cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman and has fixed January 10 for his sentencing.

The judgement was announced after a repeatedly delayed trial that had left him free to continue his sporting career.

The 23-year-old has been the face of cricket in Nepal and was the only player from the country to take part in prominent Twenty20 leagues across the world.

He was suspended as Nepal’s captain last year and taken into custody after police issued an arrest warrant for him over the assault in 2022. He was later released on bail.

Lamichhane could face up to 10 years in jail. His lawyers said he would appeal the verdict to a higher court.

“We did not expect this judgement … we are frustrated,” lawyer Sabita Bhandari Baral told the Reuters news agency about Friday’s verdict by the Kathmandu District Court.

“We’ll definitely appeal,” she said.

District Court official Ramu Sharma confirmed the verdict to the AFP news agency.

“The event was not consensual,” he said.

The former captain’s on-field success has boosted the sport’s profile in the Himalayan nation over the past few years.