Spin bowler Lamichhane, 23, once the poster boy for the rise of cricket in Nepal, is accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a Kathmandu hotel room in August last year. Lamichhane denies all charges

"The board had taken disciplinary action against him and suspended him. The new decision to lift the suspension will allow him to play games," Cricket Association of Nepal president Chatur Bahadur Chand told AFP on February 1.

Fugitive cricket star Sandeep Lamichhane returned to Nepal on Thursday to face rape charges nearly a month after an arrest warrant was issued.