Sandeep Lamichhane was not originally part of the long-list of 1122 players who had entered the IPL auction. He was, however, later included among the 578 players who eventually went under the hammer.
The 17-year-old made history on Sunday when he became the first cricketer from Nepal to sign for an IPL team. Lamichhane was bought by Delhi Daredevils, coached by Ricky Ponting, for his base price of ₹20 lakh.
The leg-spinner first made an impact at the U-19 World Cup in 2016, where he claimed a hat-trick in Nepal’s defeat of Ireland. Later that year, while taking part in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz, he made a deep impression on former Australia captain Michael Clarke, who invited the bowler to train under him and play grade cricket in Sydney.
“He had a great U-19 World Cup. We called him for a trial and we liked him. We went ahead and bought him,” said Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua.
He hoped the move would open doors for more cricketers from Nepal. “It’s very heartening,” Dua said. “What IPL has done for Afghanistan is create heroes. We’re happy for Sandeep and Nepal.”
