Ahead of the launch of The Hundred, massive controversy erupted, on Tuesday, when Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was asked to leave England when his visa ran into difficulties. As per reports, his visa has been deemed invalid and hence, he was asked to leave the country.
The Hundred is England’s 100-ball cricket league involving eight men’s and women’s teams from different cities of England and Wales.
Lamichhane was slated to don the jersey of the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred and was already in quarantine and in a bio-secure bubble, but now will not be able to take part in the competition which began on Wednesday with a Women’s clash between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals at The Oval in London.
Post this development, the leg-spinner in a Facebook post claimed that he had followed all the stipulated procedures as were mandated by the England and Wales cricket board and that he was gutted at having to miss the tournament.
He wrote, “I am extremely gutted for missing out on The Hundred. I was so looking forward to playing for my team Oval Invincibles and followed all the instructions that were given to me by the ECB officials.”
The leg-spinner said that he had come to the UK on July 9 and faced no impediments at the immigration desk. He then moved on to a government-managed quarantine facility to complete his mandatory isolation period.
He goes on to write, “I have been asking what went wrong but apparently no one at the ECB has the correct answer. I can totally understand that things can go south at any time, however, I at least deserve a clear answer on why my valid visa is not valid anymore.”
ECB has not made any public response around their action. Lamichhane has been an excellent bowler in the T20 format and plays all across the globe. In 101 matches, he has picked up 138 wickets at a strike rate of 15.90 and with an economy rate of 6.86.
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