Sandeep Lamichhane reinstated as Nepal ODI captain amid major squad overhaul

Lamichhane’s return to the captaincy is not without complications. The leg-spinner himself struggled for form during the Netherlands tour, remaining wicketless in the first three matches before being dropped for the fourth. He now faces dual responsibility — lifting team morale after a 4-0 whitewash and rediscovering his own bowling form.

The new squad is heavily oriented towards spin. Alongside Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi and Sher Malla offer specialist spin options, while Dipendra Singh Airee and Bashir Ahmed provide spin-bowling all-round skills. In contrast, the pace attack looks thin, with only Karan KC, Hemant Dhami and Gulshan Jha available after the exclusion of Sompal Kami and Nandan Yadav.

While spin-friendly conditions in Malaysia may suit the current composition, the lack of pace depth could become a concern in other conditions.

New batting combination

With Kushal Bhurtel out of the senior side, Nepal will field a new opening pair. Aasif Sheikh remains the primary option at the top, with Arjun Kumal, Dev Khanal or Ishan Pandey likely to partner him. Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Jora and Dipendra Singh Airee are expected to form the core of the middle order, while Bashir Ahmed and Gulshan Jha offer lower-order strength.

The changes inject freshness into the batting unit but also bring the risk of inexperience under pressure.

Parallel plans and upcoming challenges

CAN has simultaneously named a Nepal ‘A’ team, captained by Anil Kumar Shah, for the Top End T20 tournament in Darwin, Australia. The side includes Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Lokesh Bam, Shahab Alam and Pawan Sarraf. The move signals an intention to broaden the player pool and base national selection more strictly on recent performance.

Nepal faces a congested international calendar. After the Premier Cup, the side must prepare for the Asian Games in Japan (September 19 to October 4), where it will compete in a group alongside Afghanistan and host Japan. Advancing from the group would potentially set up matches against full-member sides such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.

CAN has already submitted a provisional list of 18 players for the Asian Games and indicated that the final squad may still change, suggesting the association is keeping its options open based on form and availability.

As Sandeep Lamichhane takes charge once again, he faces three immediate tests: maximising points from the remaining League 2 matches, restoring team confidence after the Netherlands whitewash, and leading by example with the ball. The coming weeks will reveal whether CAN’s bold restructuring delivers the desired turnaround.