Mentored by Michael Clarke and backed by Ricky Ponting, Nepal leggie Sandeep Lamichhane gets IPL call and becomes the first cricketer from Nepal to enter IPL
On Sunday Jan 28,2018, the Daredevils bought Lamichhane for Rs 20 lakh — the culmination of a process that began a year-and-a-half ago, when the franchise first spotted him at the inaugural Hong Kong T20 Blitz. The young spinner has brought Nepal cricket its breakthrough moment, becoming the first player from that country to be part of the IPL.
After Sunday’s auction, Clarke tweeted: “To the people of Nepal, you should be very proud of @IamSandeep25 he is little champion who wants to do his country proud. Cheer him on and enjoy the journey with him. God bless”.
Lamichhane thanked his mentor and expressed his happiness through a tweet: “Very happy to be announced as the player of @DelhiDaredevils for this season of @IPL! Special thanks to all those people who kept me in their prayers with holding their nerves! Journey begins now!!”.
Lamichhane’s first big moment came two years ago at Fatullah in Bangladesh, when he took a five-for against Ireland in the 2016 U-19 World Cup. His performance helped Nepal reach the Youth World Cup quarterfinals for the first time. Lamichhane is now preparing for the World Cricket League in Namibia. In about three months, he will be rubbing shoulders with the big boys.
His love affair with cricket began in India, where he spent the first four years of his life. His father was then working for the Indian Railways. After the family decided to return to Nepal, they lived in Nawalparasi district in the Terai region. Some years later, Lamichhane bumped into Raju Khadka, a former Nepal national cricket team captain and national selector.
“Lamichhane’s district did not have a cricket academy. So he came to my academy in Chitwan district. His first question was, ‘Am I good enough to play cricket for Nepal?’ I told him to work hard to get there. I was pretty encouraged with his progress. The turn he got was natural. He expected a Nepal U-19 call-up earlier, and was upset when the selectors didn’t pick him. I told him to just work on his game. He listened,” Khadka told
In 2016, the International Cricket Council banned the Cricket Association of Nepal because of the government’s interference in the cricket board. The country now has some private T20 tournaments, but not much structured cricket. “Against this backdrop, Lamichhane’s IPL contract is hugely significant. He is now on every local TV channel,” Khadka said.
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