Sandeep Lamichhane suspended from two T20Is against West Indies

Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane was suspended from his team's second and third T20 internationals against West Indies in Sharjah, after he withdrew from the first match "45 minutes before the start."

A statement from the Cricket Association of Nepal said Lamichhane's late withdrawal - 15 minutes before the toss - from the first T20I on September 27 had "a serious impact" on the team and Nepal cricket at large. The board said the team management had recommended that Lamichhane be benched from the remaining two games in the series.

It is understood that when the team management spoke to Lamichhane later, his reason for withdrawing from the first game was that he was mentally not in a good space to play the match.

Nepal beat the West Indies in the first T20I by 19 runs to record their first victory against a Full Member nation; they then won the second T20I by 90 runs to complete their first series win against a Full Member nation. They lost the third match - a dead rubber - by ten wickets.

Nepal's next assignment is the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia Pacific Final in Oman, where they will be competing with Malaysia, Qatar, UAE, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea for two places in the 2026 men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Lamichhane has been retained in the Nepal squad for the tournament.

The nine teams are divided into three groups of three each. Nepal are in Group B along with Japan and Kuwait, whom they play on October 8 and 10. The top two teams from each group proceed to the Super Six round, and the teams that finish first, second and third there qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup.