Nepal’s Lamichhane looking forward to learning from Yasir Shah

DUBAI: Nepalese cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane said Tuesday night he was looking to learn from his teammate, Lahore Qalandars' Yasir Shah.

Lamichhane, who has now set eyes on making his mark in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), said: “Playing along with Yasir Shah will be a great moment for me. He’s a legend and has done a lot of things for Pakistan.”

The Nepalese spinner is currently among one of the most sought-after players in franchise cricket — and an exceptional signing in the PSL — given that he is the only one from any associate nation to play almost every league.

The 18-year-old, drafted by the Qalandars for the fourth edition of the PSL, becomes the first Nepalese cricketer to feature in the highly-anticipated series.

Speaking to Geo.tv about sharing a dressing room with Shah and how it would help him learn more about the art of spin, Lamichhane explained that it was "a good thing for me to be playing for the same team where Yasir Shah is playing.

"Whenever you share a dressing room with such kind of legend player, you automatically get to learn a lot of things. […] I will get to learn more about leg spin from him and I’m really looking forward to it,” he added.

The right-handed leggie said he was proud to be associated with the Qalandars and that he looked forward to a season that he described as “beautiful days”. He also had his first training session with the Qalandars earlier today.

“I’m looking forward to playing an important role for my team and enjoying my time playing this league,” Lamichhane noted.

In January, last year, when he was included in the list of players up for grabs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, the Delhi Daredevils bought him, making him the first Nepalese cricketer to get a contract in the IPL.

In March 2018, he was drafted to play for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots team in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Lamichhane has also played for the Montreal Tigers and the Nangarhar Leopards in the 2018 Global T20 Canada and the Afghan Premier League, respectively, before being signed by the Melbourne Stars for the Big Bash League.

Playing in leagues all around the world and making his home country proud is a big achievement for this young Nepalese.

“It’s a proud feeling to be playing in the PSL and other leagues in the world, being from an associate country Nepal.

"It’s a big achievement, coming from a small country where you don’t expect much [and] to be playing and making your country proud,” he said.

Talking about his training and skills, Lamichhane said the coaches at his academy back in Nepal helped him a lot in growing as a cricketer.

He turned to leg spin after being unable to bag friends' wickets in street cricket with his off-spin.

“I was very young when I started playing cricket with friends on the streets.

"I used to bowl off-spin and straight balls but it didn’t help me in getting them out so I started leg spin, from where I started feeling that batsmen hesitate in playing leg spin … from there, I started my journey and joined an academy in Nepal,” he recalled.

Lamichhane is likely to make his PSL debut against Multan Sultans on Friday in Sharjah.

—Editing by Haseem uz Zaman