The T20 World Cup 2024 awaits eagerly, yet Nepal faces an unexpected setback: Sandeep Lamichhane, their star player, has been denied a US visa once again, effectively ruling him out of the entire tournament. Despite being acquitted in a previous legal case, the American Embassy in Kathmandu remained hesitant to grant him the necessary travel document.
Lamichhane’s visa interview, scheduled for Thursday, May 30, yielded no positive outcome, leaving the 23-year-old cricketer stranded on the sidelines. The rejection prompted protests outside Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s office, highlighting widespread frustration among Nepali cricket enthusiasts.
Efforts were made at the highest levels of government to intervene on Lamichhane’s behalf, with Nepal’s officials engaging in dialogue with the US embassy in Kathmandu, but the outcome remained unchanged.
Nepal, meanwhile, prepares to embark on its T20 World Cup journey without one of its key players. Placed in Group D alongside formidable opponents, including Bangladesh, Netherlands, South Africa, and Sri Lanka, the team faces an uphill battle from the outset.
Their campaign kicks off with a clash against the Netherlands at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on June 4. With challenging encounters on the horizon, Nepal will rely on the collective strength and resilience of its squad to navigate through the group stages and potentially secure a spot in the knockout rounds.
As the T20 World Cup draws near, Nepal’s cricketing fraternity must come to terms with the absence of Sandeep Lamichhane, a talented cricketer whose dreams of representing his country on the global stage have been thwarted by bureaucratic obstacles.
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