KATHMANDU: Former Nepal cricket captain San­d­eep Lamichhane appea­led against his eight-year prison sentence for rape on Thursday and was permitted to remain out of jail while the case proceeds.

Lamichhane was once the poster boy for cricket in Nepal and the leg-spinner’s on-field success had boosted the sport’s profile in the Himalayan republic.

The 23-year-old was convicted of the rape of a young woman in December and sentenced the following month.

“We have filed an appeal against the court’s decision,” his lawyer Saroj Ghimire told AFP.

Ghimire said an application for Lamichhane to remain out of custody while the appeal was heard had been accepted.

Lamichhane initially failed to return from Jam­aica, where he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League, after an arrest warrant was issued in 2022.

He was dismissed as nati­onal captain and arrested but Nepal lifted his playing ban after he was freed on bail. This allowed him to remain on the national team, including for the World Cup qualifiers and the Asia Cup.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2024