Lamichhane taken into custody upon landing at Kathmandu airport

Sandeep Lamichhane has been taken into custody by police in Kathmandu in response to the arrest warrant that had been issued in his name over an alleged case of coercion.

Shortly before being arrested, Lamichhane wrote on Facebook that he would "fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence".

"I know I am facing a difficult time of conspiracy and wrongful allegation and the ramification of its effect is something unimaginable. I am sure there must be some mechanism of compensating to the accused who proven to be innocent in our legal system," he wrote. "I will soon seek legal support against wrongful prosecution and allegation made against me and I am sure I will get the justice and will return to the cricket ground soon to make the name and fame of my beloved country and I pray for speedy trial."

When news of Lamichhane's arrest warrant was made public, on September 8, he was in the West Indies, taking part in the Caribbean Premier League. Back then, he had said he would leave the CPL and return to home to face the "baseless allegations".

Lamichhane, 22, is by far Nepal's most high-profile cricketer, and the only one to have played in T20 leagues in most parts of the world, including in the IPL, the BBL, the PSL, the BPL, and the CPL.

He is also the world's second-fastest bowler to 50 ODI wickets and third-fastest to 50 T20I wickets, and last played international cricket in August 2022, in the T20I series against Kenya. After that, he was set to represent Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL but was unable to get involved in the action.

Lamichhane was Nepal's captain at the time of the arrest warrant, a position he has since lost, having been suspended by the board following the surfacing of the allegations. At the time, Cricket Association of Nepal's acting secretary Prashant Vikram Malla had said that his suspension would remain in place pending a complete investigation.