Melbourne Stars snap Lamichhane for BBL 2018-19

Sandeep Lamichhane has added another T20 franchise to his kitty as he was signed by Melbourne Stars for the upcoming Big Bash League on Monday (October 22).

The Nepal legspinner will break his stint in between and will play in the Bangladesh Premier League for Sylhet Sixers starting from January 5 after joining Stars on December 10.

However, he is set to return in time for the February fixtures of BBL. During the Nepal spinner’s stint in the BPL, Matt Parkinson, the promising Lancashire legspinner, will replace him.

Stars will be the fifth T20 franchise Lamichhane will represent after Delhi Daredevils, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Kowloon Cantons and Sixers. The legspinner created waves in the Indian Premier League with his impressive talent after he had helped Nepal gain ODI status with his 13 wickets in the ICC World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe earlier this year. Lamichhane already has the experience of playing grade cricket in Australia where he caught the eye of former Australia captain Michael Clarke and was then mentored by him.

He proved his worth in the ICC Under-19 World Cup that year in Bangladesh by picking up 16 wickets from six games and ended as the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Parkinson has earned a deal based on impressive performances for Lancashire in the T20 Blast. He has 39 scalps at an impressive average of 15.61 in the shortest format of the game. He also took 25 wickets at an average of just over 16 during this season’s T20 Blast.

“I first saw Sandeep bowl for Nepal in the Asian U19 Championships in Malaysia and was immediately impressed by both his skill as a wrist spinner and also his energy. I watched Matt Parkinson bowl for Lancashire in the Vitality Blast this season where he helped them reach the semi finals with some dominant performances,” Trent Woodhill, Melbourne Stars’ list manager said to the franchise’s official website.

“Lamichhane had a successful IPL debut for Delhi and bowled well in the CPL. We have high expectations that he will light up the BBL and become a star of the tournament,” he added.

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