Nepal’s 17th year old spinner Sandeep Lamichhane continued his rapid rise in international cricket as he was named in the ICC World XI squad to take on the West Indies in a charity T20 International on May 31.
The match will feature an ICC XI led by Eoin Morgan which will feature stars such as Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik to go with players from all the top cricketing nations. They will take on Carlos Brathwaite’s side comprising stars such as Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Marlon Samuels among other big hitters in the Windies line up. The funds collected from the match will to the welfare of people affected by hurricanes in the Caribbean last year.
It’s another feature in cap for the Nepal teen sensation who was spotted and mentored by Michael Clarke, the former Australian captain. Sandeep was identified by Clarke in a Hong Kong T-20 blitz and has trained at Clarke’s academy in Sydney.
Lamichhane first represented Nepal in the 2016 U-19 World Cup in which he took 16 wickets.
Sandeep Lamichhane’s five-wicket haul, which included the only hat-trick in the tournament, to beat Ireland by eight wickets and book their maiden berth in the quarter-finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016. Since then he hasn’t looked back.
He followed that up with with 13 wickets in the World Cup Qualifier in March to help Nepal finish eighth and with it earn ODI status.
Expressing happiness on being included in the ICC World XI, Lamichhane considers himself grateful to be sharing dressing rooms with some of the finest of the game and is keen to pick their brains as he looks to make strides in international cricket.
His story can be drawn parallel to Rashid Khan, who was the only spinner picked from Afghanistan back in 2015-16. Circa 2018, the IPL has six players from Afghanistan and players such as Rashid Khan have gone on to lead their side.
Lamichhane looks to be on the same path.
With more opportunity and better performances the confidence will grow and it will help Sandeep’s performance when he dons the national jersey.
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