Young Sandeep, 17 gets to be among the ‘big men of cricket’ who include Eoin Morgan, Shahis Afridi, Tamim Iqbal, Dinesh Karthik, Rashid Khan, Mitchell McClenaghan, Shoaib Malik, Hardik Pandya, Thisara Perera and Luke Ronchi.

Expressing his joy on being included in the ICC World XI, he said, “I am privileged to have been chosen to be part of the ICC World XI against the Windies. It is an honor for the entire country and passionate followers of Nepal cricket, as well as an indicator that we are making our mark on the international game.”

“Training, sharing the dressing room and playing with some of the trend-setters who we saw on television while growing up is something I look forward to. This is an opportunity for me to learn and improve, and I am committed to cashing in on this.”

“What can I say about Lord’s, it’s the Home of Cricket, it’s a complete history of cricket and a dream venue for any cricketer. To play there in 2016 was a memorable occasion, which I look forward to reliving later this month. I hope I will continue to get opportunities in the future which, in turn, will help me improve my skills as well as my country to strengthen its position on the world cricket map.”

The Birth of a Star

Lamichhane’s journey to the ‘Big Field’ began when Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake recognized the young lad’s talent. He first caught sight of the boy’s potential when he saw him playing in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2019 where he took a whooping, 16 wickets.

In that historic game between MCC and Nepal in July 2016, Lamichhane had a score of 1 for 25, while his team scored a 217 for eight. Nepal gave MCC a smashing defeat as they bowled their opponents at a 176 in 47.2 overs.

Lamichhane’s Laurels/Achievements

In February, this year, Lamichhane (also famous as the wrist-spinner) took 17 wickets in six ICC World ‘Cricket League Division Two’ matches in Namibia.

Later in March, he claimed 13 wickets in the ‘ICC World Cup Qualifier’ match and landed Nepal at the 8^th position to earn the ODI status till 2022.

Since then there was no looking back. Lamichhane’s performance kept drawing attention from key persons. When the IPL 2018 auction was in progress, Lamichhane became the first Nepal player to be a part of the IPL League, he was selected for the Delhi Daredevils.

His performance made spectators see why he had been selected for the IPL 2018. He played a one for 25 in his first match against Royal Challengers, Bangalore.

On 17^th May, Sandeep was conferred with the title of ‘Best Youth Player’ as part of the Pulsar Awards 2018 and was awarded the ‘Youth Player of the Year Award’ in the 15^th edition of the Awards ceremony at the Army Officer’s Club.

On an End Note:

We wish Sandeep Lamichhane good luck for all his future endeavors. We hope to see him bring home more and more laurels and make Nepal more prominent through his performance on the field.

Also Read:-  

• CPL 2018: Sandeep Lamichhane Bags Another Biggie
• IPL2018: Sandeep Lamichhane, First Nepali Cricketer Enters IPL
• Lamichhane’s Brilliance Keeps Nepal’s World Cup Hopes Alive

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Sandeep drew wide attention from the global audience for his entry into the 11^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the Delhi Daredevils bought him for Rs 20 lakh in an auction in January 2018.

The 17-year-old Sandeep’s name has been trending all over since then, and a new announcement took him to further heights.

In a recent update, Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua and Nepal National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista gave off the jersey No.1 to Sandeep, who was really awestruck at this response from IPL!

“I cannot take the number 25 from my seniors, as the birth date of my deceased Nephew falls on January i.e. 1, so I took the number for the jersey and we always want to be number one for which I took the number,” Sandeep said in response.

Adding flavor to his joy, Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua moved on to Twitter saying, “Great moment as @IamSandeep25 was handed his jersey No 1 by #KeshavBista head of #NationalSportsCouncil of #Nepal as the … and yes our young @DelhiDaredevils boy looks amazing in the jersey #DilDilli.”

“Somebody from Nepal would have taken him before us had we not stepped in. Sandeep Lamichhane is someone who is talented who brings something unique to the team,” Dua added.

This IPL season, to be held from April 7 to May 27, 2018, has a total of eight teams participating in it.

Sandeep will be playing along with the Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) and paceman Trent Boult (New Zealand), among others in Delhi Daredevils.

The Nepali leg-spinner has recently returned to Nepal after the World Cup Qualifiers match with Zimbabwe and will embark on the India trip for IPL very soon.

A Rocket-like Journey

Sandeep’s growth to this level has been so fast that he earned this wide recognition of becoming the IPL boy just within two years after getting selected to the Nepali national cricket team.

First identified by Nepali national cricket coach Pubudu Dassanayake, Sandeep’s talent got a due recognition when he was invited by Australian cricketer Michael Clarke to train at his cricket academy in Sydney after watching his sport at the Hong Kong Twenty20 Blitz tournament in 2016.

“Playing with a player like Michael Clarke is such as a big thing. It was amazing and sharing a dressing room with him and getting experience from him, it was something like a dream come true,” Sandeep said at that moment.

Often compared to spin-legend Shane Warne, Sandeep became centric to the world media after he got selected to IPL, and Nepali personalities were no exception. Ex-Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba tweeted to Sandeep saying, “Not just me, but the entire nation is proud of you.”

“If you get the chance to play in the IPL, lots of players will be there who are very experienced, and I think I will learn a lot,” Sandeep said earlier, which shows his love for learning through success.

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In the IPL auction held in Bengaluru (India) on January 28, 2018, Indian IPL team Delhi Daredevils proposed Sandeep’s name making him the first Nepali cricketer to get featured in IPL.

Surprisingly, Sandeep was compared to the world’s renowned Australian spinner Shane Warne and was priced INR 2 million in the auction.

“The first Nepali player in the history of the Vivo IPL! It gives us great pleasure to welcome the 17-year-old leg-spinner @IamSandeep25 into the #DDSquad! 17-year-old sensation with a knack for picking up wickets, @IamSandeep25 will be vying to do his country proud come the Vivo IPL season!” the club confirmed in an official tweet.

In reply, Sandeep tweeted, “Very happy to be announced as the player of @DelhiDaredevils for this season of @IPL! Special thanks to all those people who kept me in their prayers withholding their nerves! Journey begins now!!”

Excited at the news, Sandeep went on to say that he would take his country to the next level.

“This is the result of my dedication and hard work and I am hoping for the best to do well. I’ll try my best to do well which could open the gates for other players in future,” he added.

From Chitwan Academy

Sandeep’s actual cricket journey began at Chitwan Cricket Academy where he grabbed the attention of former national team skipper Raju Khadka.

His life took a special turn at the age of 14 when the Canadian coach Pubudu Dassanayake picked up Sandeep for the youth team camp.

Further, Sandeep drew a global attention with his entry into the ICC U-19 World Cup squad in 2016 where he bagged five wickets including a hat-trick in a match with Ireland.

He further got an opportunity to get trained in the Michael Clarke’s academy run by the Australian skipper Michael Clarke.

An All-round Applause

Elated at Sandeep’s entry to IPL, Khadka said, “I felt like I have rediscovered myself today. This is awesome and good for Lamichhane and Nepali cricket as a whole. I knew from the very beginning that he would make it big one day.”

Meanwhile, Clarke tweeted, “To the people of Nepal, you should be very proud of @IamSandeep25, he is little champion who wants to do his country proud. Cheer him on and enjoy the journey with him. God bless you.”

“Congratulations to all the Nepalese, the cricket players, the crazy fans and everyone associated with Nepal Cricket. ‪A very proud moment to be a Nepali cricket player today…‪Well done Sandeep Lamichhane,” said Nepal national team skipper Paras Khadka in his official Facebook post.

Former Nepal national cricket team captain and Nepali U-19 cricket team head coach Binod Das tweeted, “Congratulations @IamSandeep25. You have made us proud. Thank u @DelhiDaredevils for the opportunity to this young kid from a tour cricketing nation. #supportdelhidaredevils #ipl2018.”

Sandeep is currently in Dubai tour as part of the Nepal national cricket team’s preparation for the ICC World Cricket League Division-II planned in Namibia in February 2018.

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