The United States Embassy in Kathmandu has denied visa to cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane.
“And the @USEmbassyNepal did it again what they did back in 2019, they denied my Visa for the T-20 World Cup happening in USA and West Indies. Unfortunate. I am sorry to all the well wishers of Nepal Cricket,” Lamichhane wrote on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
When asked about the refusal to grant visa to Lamichhane, the US Embassy in Kathmandu extended best wishes to the Nepali men’s national cricket team for the ICC T-20 World Cup but refused to comment on the matter related to Lamichhane’s visa.
“The American Embassy is very excited about the participation of Nepal's men's national cricket team, The Rhinos, in the T-20 World Cup to be held in the United States of America and in fact, some officials of this embassy had also met the team a few weeks ago to congratulate and encourage the team before their departure. We wish the entire team all the best for the upcoming games,” the embassy told Setopati.
“The American Embassy in Kathmandu and other US consular posts around the world have worked together to ensure that members of national cricket teams who qualify for the appropriate visa category are able to travel to the US in time to compete in the World Cup. As visa-related records are confidential under US law, we cannot comment on any particular visa-related case,” it added.
Lamichhane was preparing to fly to the US for the ICC T-20 World Cup 2024.
On May 15, the Patan High Court acquitted Lamichhane in a rape case overturning the Kathmandu District Court’s verdict.
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) then lifted its suspension on Lamichhane and sought approval from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to include him in Nepal’s team for the T-20 World Cup. Lamichhane was preparing to go the US after the ICC approved his inclusion in Nepal’s team.
The Nepali team is currently preparing for the World Cup in the US.
Nepal will open its World Cup campaign after playing two warm-up matches against the US and Canada in Dallas, Texas.
Nepal is in Group D of the T-20 World Cup 2024. The group also includes South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
