Nepal’s leg spin prodigy Sandeep Lamichhane distinguished himself in an international platform last week and had the whole country celebrating as a result. Sandeep’s success has become a matter of national pride and has further bolstered the prospects of the newly-inducted Nepali Cricket team making a mark on the One Day International (ODI) stage. After what probably was the longest wait in his cricketing career, the new poster boy for Nepali cricket ended long speculations over his debut by not only playing but performing admirably at the world’s biggest stage—leaving fans, friends and the entire country enrapt.

History was made when Sandeep became the first Nepali cricketer to join an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise for the 11th edition of cricket’s most expensive and glitzy Twenty20 league. That feat was bettered when the 17-year old took to the field for Delhi Daredevils and gave a performance that had all Nepali fans celebrating.

Most importantly, Sandeep has proved a point—that the new members of International Cricket Council’s One Day International (ODI) club are not short of cricketing talent and his stint at the IPL could be a watershed moment for Nepali cricketers aspiring to play in lucrative leagues around the world. 

“This season’s IPL was an unforgettable journey for me,” Sandeep told journalists following his return to Kathmandu on May 22, “It was a great learning curve that taught me a lot. I still have a long way to go.”

As a U-19 player, Lamichhane first caught the attention of the cricketing world at the Youth World Cup in Bangladesh where he was dubbed “the Nepali Shane Warne.” And his two-year journey to the IPL has been a source of inspiration to Nepali youth, while also galvanising Nepali enthusiasm for cricket once more.

The long wait

In a Daredevils squad that boasted several established overseas players like Trent Boult, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Jason Roy, Liam Plunkett and Kagiso Rabada, finding a place in the playing XI was always going to be tough for an uncapped player like Sandeep.

With only four overseas players allowed in one match, the Daredevils showed they did not dare gamble with the Nepali leg spinner in the initial phases of the league. The Daredevils went on to play a string of unimpressive games, as a result of which their out-of-form skipper, Gautam Gambhir, tendered his resignation.

With their playoff chances hanging by a thread, Sandeep was still miles away from making his Daredevils debut until the 11th match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which knocked them out of the tournament. The nervous wait for Sandeep, and all Nepali fans, finally ended at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium with Australian legend and Daredevils’ coach, Ricky Ponting, fielding him in their home match against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore. From there on Sandeep has made the IPL his own.

Dispelling fears that the youngster might buckle under pressure at the biggest stage of his cricketing career, Sandeep captivated everyone with a display of calm confidence and maturity beyond his years while bowling against some of the best batsmen in the world.

In the game against Bangalore, Sandeep impressed with the turns and variations of his ball. Sandeep was particularly lauded for the way he bowled against Indian national team skipper Kohli and South African batsman AB de Villiers as the two contemporary batting greats struggled to pinch runs off the teenage prodigy.

Magic spells

Beginning with an economical one for 25 against Bangalore in his first game, Sandeep bettered the performance against Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings who are now set to play their seventh final of the IPL.

A big wicket of IPL great Suresh Raina was the highlight for Sandeep in the Chennai match where his economical bowling was instrumental in the Daredevils’ 34-run win. The Nepali bowler was a bit expensive in the last game against Mumbai Indians, bleeding 36 runs, but along the way he picked up three wickets in the 11-run victory.

Sandeep’s style entices batsmen to go after the ball until it turns, leaving them bamboozled and sometimes bowled out. The leg spinner returned home with an overall figure of five  for 82 with an economy of 6.833 runs per over—a brilliant statistic for a spinner who was asked to bowl with a new ball.

Although the chance came late for him, the 12 overs that Sandeep bowled in the three IPL matches he played this season could now be enough to lure more contracts from professional Twenty20 leagues across the world. His next stop now is the Caribbean Premier League and looks like he has already ensured himself another stint in the IPL next year.     

The Daredevils franchise has publicly thanked Sandeep in a statement after the league stages and said it is looking forward to having him next season. Daredevils coach, Ponting, too seems to have high hopes about Sandeep’s future in the IPL. “We’ve got some really talented youngsters and Sandeep is one of them. We’re looking forward to him having a really long, successful IPL career,” Ponting told the International Cricket Council after Delhi’s campaign ended with a victory over Mumbai.

Sandeep’s IPL journey was also heavily boosted when he was added to the World XI which will be led by England captain, Eoin Morgan, for a one-off Twenty20 International

charity match against the West Indies at the Lord’s next week. To be named in the list that includes so many established names is another feather to his cap.

Sandeep had been listed among the draft players for the Pakistani Super League and Bangladesh Premier League last year but was not picked. However, if his performance in the IPL is anything to go by, he seems set to become the first globetrotting Nepali cricketer playing in professional leagues around the world.

His mentor Michael Clarke, who is largely credited for getting Sandeep to the IPL, had said that the bowler is capable of playing in the Australian Big Bash League—another cash-rich Twenty20 tournament. With Clarke already being an influential figure in Sandeep’s cricketing journey, recent words from Ponting has left Nepali fans assuming that Sandeep will be one of the youngsters to watch in this year’s Big Bash as well.

Icarus

Since the time he was introduced to Nepali cricket, Sandeep’s trajectory has been nothing short of a fairytale. While his hard work and dedication cannot be discounted, everything has fallen into place fortuitously so far. The only instance that didn’t go his way was when he got snubbed for the 2016 ICC U-19 World Cup Global Qualifiers in Malaysia.

In the early days of his cricketing career, Sandeep was brought to Kathmandu as a 15-year old by then coach, Pubudu Dassanayake, for the U-19 side but was ignored for the Qualifiers. That snub ultimately worked in his favour as Dassanayake kept him in the senior national

team camp and from there sneaked him into the team for the 2016 U-19 World Cup where everything changed for him.

From a jawdropping performance in the U-19 World Cup, Sandeep was groomed under the tutelage of Clarke who first noticed his talent in the Hong Kong Twenty20 Blitz and invited him to Sydney to train at his academy and eventually play Australian Grade Cricket with team, Western Suburbs.

Barring the initial snub from the U-19 team, Sandeep’s story is not one of great adversity and hardship. It is a story of tireless effort and talent that successfully found platforms for exposure and praise. “With due respect to the talent he has got and the hard work he has put in, there are more than 100 people who are working as hard as him. For him, everything has fallen into place,” said his U-19 coach Binod Das.

Compared to team skipper Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Shakti Gauchan, Basanta Regmi or even Das, Sandeep is very young and has shot into superstardom. But his youth does not spare him the onus of responsibly handling the massive attention, glamour and money that will undoubtedly come his way.

Under Das, Sandeep has played three U-19 tournaments and the former national team skipper doesn’t want to rule out the possibility of a fourth but worries that his new found fame might lead the leg spinner awry.

“It all depends on how he is surrounded. Everything that he is getting right now are attached to his performances. If that performance goes away, everything will go. I am sure he has very good people to advise him and help him out in this regard. We cannot rule out that he might lose his way,” said Das.

“If we start making him feel like he is a superstar and doesn’t need to do much to get into the national teams, then that is not going to work. Now more than ever, it is essential that Sandeep keeps his head down and keeps at it,” Das added.

Opponents    Overs    Maidens    Runs    Wickets    Dots    Economy

Bangalore    4    0    24    1    10    6.25

Chennai        4    0    21    1    10    5.25

Mumbai        4    0    35    3    10    9.00

Total        12    0    82    5    30    6.83

Just to see everybody tune into cricket and follow all the details last week outlines the power of what sports can do to a country ... Sports-women, men who have forever given their everything to this country have slowly started to get the recognition that they have always deserved … It’s about time that we as a country invest into sports so that we can have many more stories to cherish like the journey Sandeep has paved.

— Nepal skipper, Paras Khadka, on Facebook

Lamichhane’s only 17, it’s admirable. Wonder how these youngsters do it. Great for Indian cricket, great for cricket overall.

—AB de Villiers, after Bangalore vs Delhi game

We’ve all seen him for the last eight or nine weeks bowling day in and day out. He bowls all day every day with a smile on his face and just absolutely loves it. It’s great to see guys like him. We’ve got some really talented youngsters and Sandeep is one of them.

—Former Australian great and Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting

Don’t go to his age. He looks like someone who holds the experience of playing 100 matches like these.

—India’s Aakash Chopra

You give a 17-year old debutant the first over in the game and he gives away just two runs. You give him the third and he picks up a wicket. Can he get AB de Villiers now?

—Australian commentator Dean Jones in the match against Bangalore

My little buddy IamSandeep25 gets his first opportunity in the IPL. What an amazing story. Great day for Sandeep, his family and all of Nepal.

—Australian Michael Clarke on Twitter after Sandeep’s debut