Sandeep Lamichhane named Nepal's new ODI captain ahead of ACC Men's Premier Cup

Nepal has appointed leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane as their new ODI captain ahead of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup scheduled to take place in Malaysia from August 30 to September 12. Lamichhane replaces Rohit Paudel as Nepal's ODI skipper, as the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced a 14-member squad for the tournament.

It will be a second stint for Lamichhane as Nepal’s captain after his first was cut short in 2022 when an arrest warrant was issued against him, leading to his suspension by CAN. In 2023, a Kathmandu district court found him guilty of rape. In 2024, the Patan High Court acquitted him because of "a lack of evidence"

Lamichhane was leading Nepal in both white-ball formats at the time of his suspension; now Dipendra Singh Airee is the leader in T20Is. Lamichhane has led Nepal to four victories out of 14 ODIs as captain and remains a key member of their bowling attack. He has scalped 154 wickets in 77 ODIs, with best figures of 6/11 against Papua New Guinea in September 2021. 

He was suspended for two T20Is by CAN in October 2025 after pulling out of one match at the last minute. Meanwhile, Nepal are undergoing a tough time in ODIs, having recently suffered four successive defeats in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2, which has left them in seventh place out of eight teams in the competition.

Nepal squad for ACC Men's Premier Cup: Sandeep Lamichhane (capt), Rohit Paudel, Aasif Sheikh, Arjun Kumal, Dev Khanal, Dipendra Singh Airee, Basir Ahamad, Ishan Pandey, Gulshan Kumar Jha, Sher Malla, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Hemant Dhami, Sundeep Jora