Lamichhane has the Nepal captaincy back, and Paudel stays in the side
The Cricket Association of Nepal has made Sandeep Lamichhane its ODI captain again for the ACC Men’s Premier Cup, almost four years after suspending him. Rohit Paudel, who took Nepal to the 2023 World Cup Qualifier, drops back into the ranks as a batter.
Aug 12, 2026
Sandeep Lamichhane will captain Nepal in one-day cricket again. The Cricket Association of Nepal named the legspinner as ODI captain in a 14-player squad for the ACC Men’s Premier Cup on 10 August, taking the job from Rohit Paudel and keeping Paudel in the side as a batter.
On paper it is a simple decision about the best cricketer in the squad. Underneath, it closes a loop that has been open since September 2022, when an 18-year-old woman filed a police complaint accusing Lamichhane of rape, CAN suspended him, and his first spell as captain ended. He was arrested on his return to Nepal that October. Kathmandu District Court convicted him in December 2023 and sentenced him to eight years the following month. Patan High Court acquitted him on appeal in May 2024, and CAN lifted the suspension in time for that year’s T20 World Cup. He has been back in the team since. Now he has the job back too.
The bowler Nepal build everything around
Lamichhane has 154 ODI wickets, more than any other Nepal bowler by a distance, at an average a shade over 19. No Nepali cricketer has had a career close to his either: an IPL contract with Delhi Daredevils at 17, the first from his country, and franchise work since in the Big Bash, the PSL, the Bangladesh Premier League and the CPL.
What he has never done is win much as captain. He first got the job in December 2021, taking over from Gyanendra Malla, and his 14 ODIs in charge brought four wins, nine defeats and a tie. That is a thin record. It is also a record from a Nepal side that had not yet become the team it is now.
Paudel loses the job without losing form
The awkward part is that Paudel has not obviously done anything wrong. He was 20 years and 73 days old when Nepal handed him the captaincy in 2022, the second-youngest ODI captain the game has had, and he got the job with the team’s best player suspended and facing a criminal charge. Under him Nepal won 11 of 12 in World Cup League 2 and reached the 2023 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.
He is 23. He stays in the squad, and CAN has offered nothing by way of explanation beyond the appointment itself.
Nepal’s recent cricket has been rough. They lost all four of their matches at the League 2 tri-series in Utrecht in July, two to Namibia and two to the Netherlands, including a three-run defeat that they should have closed out. Before that they had signed off at home in May with a 122-run win over the United States at Kirtipur. The top four in League 2 go straight to the World Cup Qualifier and the bottom four drop into a play-off, so Nepal are still playing for something bigger than Malaysia.
What is at stake in Malaysia
The Premier Cup runs from 30 August to 12 September across grounds in Kuala Lumpur and Bangi, and it is the route into the Asia Cup. UAE won the 2024 edition and took the qualification place at the 2025 Asia Cup; the winner in Malaysia gets the same reward for 2027.
Ten teams are involved, the top eight from 2024 plus Malaysia and Singapore, who came through the Challenger Cup in Singapore in June. Nepal are in Group A with Bahrain, Hong Kong China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, and open against Saudi Arabia on 1 September. Group B has UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Singapore.
One thing worth noting before anyone reaches for the 2024 table: that tournament was played over 20 overs, this one is a 50-over event. Nepal finished fourth in 2024, losing the third-place play-off to Hong Kong.
The squad
Lamichhane, Aasif Sheikh, Arjun Kumal, Rohit Paudel, Dev Khanal, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sundeep Jora, Basir Ahamad, Ishan Pandey, Gulsan Jha, Sher Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC and Hemant Dhami.
Airee, Karan KC and Sheikh were all there for Lamichhane’s first spell in charge. Khanal, Jora and Pandey came through while he was out of the side, and Pandey’s 84 set up that win over the United States. Whether a captaincy helps or hurts a bowler who already carries the attack is the question CAN has chosen to answer the hard way, and Nepal have three weeks to find out.