The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) named Sandeep Lamichhane as Nepal’s ODI captain for the ACC Men’s Premier Cup on Monday, August 10, 2026. The 26-year-old leg-spinner takes over from Rohit Paudel, who had led the side since 2022. Lamichhane will assume the captaincy when Nepal open their campaign in Malaysia on August 30, 2026.
Lamichhane is returning to a role he has held before. He captained Nepal across 14 ODIs prior to Paudel taking charge, and his reappointment comes with a formidable individual record behind it. He has taken 154 wickets across 77 ODIs, a tally that made him the quickest Nepalese bowler to reach the 150-wicket mark in the format. Beyond ODIs, Lamichhane crossed a separate landmark by becoming the first Nepali cricketer to take a century of wickets in T20 Internationals, underlining his standing as the country’s most decorated bowling asset across both white-ball formats.
Paudel’s record as captain was a commendable one. During the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, he guided Nepal to 11 wins from 12 ODIs, a sequence that reflected how far the side had developed as a competitive unit under his leadership. Paudel has been retained in the squad and will continue to contribute as a player at the ACC Men’s Premier Cup, keeping his experience available to the group even as the captaincy moves on.
Why has the captaincy changed hands?
CAN confirmed the change on August 10, 2026, alongside the release of Nepal’s full squad for the tournament. However, the board did not provide any official explanation for the decision to move the captaincy from Paudel to Lamichhane. No statement setting out the reasoning behind the appointment has been made available in confirmed sources at the time of writing.
What is the ACC Men’s Premier Cup and when does Nepal play?
The ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2026 runs in Malaysia from August 30 to September 12, 2026. The ten-team field is made up of the eight sides that featured in the 2024 edition of the tournament, supplemented by the pair of finalists who advanced from the 2026 ACC Men’s Challenger Cup, making it one of the most competitive regional ODI events on the Asian cricket calendar.
Nepal’s squad for the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2026: Sandeep Lamichhane (C), Aasif Sheikh, Arjun Kumal, Rohit Paudel, Dev Khanal, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sundeep Jora, Basir Ahamad, Ishan Pandey, Gulsan Jha, Sher Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC and Hemant Dhami.
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The selection retains the core of the group that performed so well under Paudel, with Lamichhane now tasked with leading that experienced unit into a tournament that carries significant weight for Nepal’s regional standing.
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