Cricketer Lamichhane says he's returning to Nepal to face rape charges

Fugitive cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane said he was returning to Nepal on Thursday to face rape charges, nearly a month after an arrest warrant was issued.

"I will fully cooperate in all stages of investigation and will fight legal battle to prove my innocence. Let the justice prevail," Lamichhane posted on his Facebook page alongside details of his flight.

Lamichhane was suspended as Nepal's cricket captain after a court in the country issued the arrest warrant on 8 September.

It followed a complaint from a 17-year-old that the 22-year-old had raped her in a Kathmandu hotel room in August.

Lamichhane denied the charges but failed to return to Nepal from Jamaica where he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League.

Lamichhane has been a poster boy for the rise of cricket in mountainous Nepal, who gained one-day international status by the world governing body in 2018.

The leg spinner's big break came when he was snapped up by the Delhi Capitals for the lucrative Indian Premier League in 2018.

He has since been the most sought-after Nepali cricketer in international Twenty20 leagues.

Lamichhane last month issued a statement on social media reiterating that the claims against him were baseless and defending his decision not to return to Nepal.

"News of the arrest warrant issued against me... made me mentally disturbed. I could not think what to do and what not to do," he wrote.

"My health condition is gradually improving and I am planning to return to Nepal as soon as possible to vehemently fight back (against the allegations)."

Soon afterwards Nepali police said they had sought help from Interpol with a "diffusion" notice asking member countries for their cooperation.

About 2 300 rape cases were reported in Nepal in the last fiscal