Hobart, Nepal leg spinner, Sandeep Lamichhane, is all set to play for the Hobart based Australian T-20 franchise cricket team Hobart Hurricanes in the 11th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) scheduled to take place from 5 December 2021 to 28 January 2022.
On 26 August, Hobart Hurricanes has confirmed that it renewed a contract with Sandeep Lamichhane who was part of Hobart Hurricane in the the10th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). It has announced the squad of 16 players including Sandeep. It is curious to note that he is the only overseas player contracted by Hobart Hurricanes. He is the first Nepalese player in BBL. Wearing purple jersey, the Hurricanes play their home matches at Blundstone Arena.
The 21-year-old, arguably the most famous export of Nepal in the global sporting arena, has re-signed with the Hobart-based Hobart Hurricanes for 2021-22 Big Bash League season or BBL11. The leading cricketer in Nepal’s national squad made his Big Bash League debut for the Melbourne Stars back in BBL08. In the two seasons, (2008 and 9) of BBL cricket, he took 26 wickets at an average of 19.80 in the 20 matches he is played for Melbourne Stars. He picked up 8 wickets playing eight matches in the last season for Hobart Hurricanes.
After the renewal of the contract Sandeep shared briefly with Nepalese Australian, “I enjoyed thoroughly playing for Hobart Hurricanes last year with the great teammates. I am fully convinced that this year, I will be able to play in all matches and deliver better performance.”
BBL, a well-known cricket competition in Australia, is the professional men’s T-20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. Administered by Cricket Australia, it is participated by 8 Australian teams consisting of international cricketers, and it is played in the double round-robin and play-offs format.
The Western Australia-based reputed sports personality, the outgoing NRNA ICC Sports central advisor Subash Shrestha reflected, “Many Nepalese cricketers including that of the second generation have been much inspired by Sandeep’s hard-earned skills and sense of team spirit. Arguably the most reputed and promising teen sportsperson in contemporary Nepali sports landscape and the down-to-earth star cricketer will be warmly treated by the cricket-crazy Nepalese people and we would go to cheer the face and future of Nepali cricket up in the stadium.”
BhupalSitoula, the outgoing NRNA Oceania sports coordinator viewed, “We all sport lovers in Australia are very keen to see his performance in this season’s BBL too. Many Nepalese are huge fans of the Nepalese Cricket star Sandeep in Australia where he is going to play in the competition of high international standard, we are more than proud to campaign support for him in Australia, the powerhouse of world sport. The team has included him in the squad for the 2021-22 edition too which is a great honour to the entire Nepalese diaspora and sport scene of Nepal, and we have good reasons to believe that he will continue to inspire the contemporary Nepalese sportsmen and even that of the second generation who play cricket in Australia. We are very proud to bask in the reflected glory of Sandeep, a role model for many emerging Nepalese cricketers and pride of Nepalese sport. All the cricketers in our community and cricket lovers are much eagerly awaiting to see his game.”
