Srinagar: Amid ongoing talk surrounding USA travel ban on Afghanistan citizens, the Major League Cricket (MLC) officials are hopeful over Afghanistan players’ participation in the upcoming 2025 edition.
A total of seven Afghan players are due to participate in the league, including star spinner Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai and Naveen-ul-Haq (all MI New York); Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Waqar Salamkheil (all Seattle Orcas) and Noor (Texas Super Kings).
Since the ban includes an exemption for ‘any athlete or member of an athletic team travelling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State’, the tournament organisers hope MLC to be classified as a major sporting event by the US government.
As the ban will come into effect from June 9, an official of one affected franchise shared that they would explore all possibilities of flying the players to the States beforehand.
“We’re continuing to monitor the situation and are working with the relevant authorities to minimize travel disruptions for overseas players ahead of the start of Major League Cricket next week,” an MLC spokesperson said.
“We continue to attract some of the best players from around the world to come over to the US to showcase their talent, along with the best cricketers from the USA, and we are set to have the most exciting tournament to date this summer.”
It is pertinent to mention that the third edition of the MLC will commence on June 12, with last year’s finalists Washington Freedom and San Francisco locking horns at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.