KATHMANDU, May 23: The Ministry of Youth and Sports has initiated the necessary steps to secure a visa for cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane to travel to the US to take part in the T20 World Cup.

After a conversation between Youth and Sports Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha and Nepal Cricket Association (CAN) Secretary Paras Khadka on Thursday, the Ministry of Youth and Sports sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) requesting assistance in obtaining the necessary visa for Lamichhane.

Minister Shrestha informed that the ministry is taking all necessary steps for Lamichhane to secure a visa to travel to the US . He also expressed his readiness to provide any required support.

This comes a day after the US Embassy in Kathmandu denied him a visa to travel to the US. It is not clear as to what caused the embassy to deny him the visa. The Embassy in response to a media query clarified that they can not comment on individual visa cases as visa records are confidential under US law.

Sources said the MoFA will proceed with Sandeep's visa issue following the request from the sports ministry. Lamichhane was called for an interview on Wednesday and was denied a visa by the US Embassy. He is preparing to go to the US to play in the ICC T20 World Cup.