The remarkable globe-trotting career of Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane took a new twist Wednesday when it was announced the leg-spinner would have his first stint in county cricket by playing for Worcestershire in the upcoming edition of England’s Twenty20 Blast.
Worcestershire ropes Sandeep Lamichhane
Despite still being just 20-years-old and not hailing from a major cricket nation, Lamichhane is now an experienced T20 campaigner, following stints in the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash League among other domestic competitions.
📝 🧙♂️ New Signing 🙌🙌🙌
20-year-old leg-spinner @Sandeep25 will join the Rapids for the 2021 @VitalityBlast!#WeAreWorcestershire #Rapids 🌊
— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) March 24, 2021
At Worcestershire, he will be reunited with batsman Riki Wessels after they played together for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.
Lamichhane has taken 125 wickets at an average of under 19 apiece in 96 T20s.
“Sandeep has played in many tournaments and gained a lot of experience in franchise cricket,” said Worcestershire coach Alex Gidman in a club statement.
“He’s a leg-spinner, which is a bit of mystery spin we believe we need in our squad in terms of balance, so we are ecstatic with the signing.
“This is his first taste of playing in England, and I’m sure he will do well and have an enjoyable summer with us,” he added.
Lamichhane, a product of Nepal’s Chitwan Cricket Academy, became a protege of Michael Clarke after the former Australia captain spotted him at a tournament in Hong Kong.
In 2018 Lamichhane became the first cricketer from Nepal to play in the IPL. He was bought by the now-defunct Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) for his base price of Rs. 20 Lakhs.
However, the opportunities for him were few and far between; in three seasons with the franchise, he made into the eleven only 9 times – owing to the strong Indian spin-bowlers Delhi possessed – but was impressive picking up 13 wickets.
He warmed the bench for the entire last season and was released for IPL 2021; the spinner went unsold in the IPL 2021 auction.
