Cambodia were forced to forfeit their matches at the ACC Men’s Challenger Cup in Singapore after being unable to field a full team for the tournament. According to reports, three Cambodian players were denied visas upon arrival in Singapore, while a fourth player suffered an injury, leaving the squad without enough available players to compete. As a result, Cambodia withdrew from the competition, and Indonesia and Uzbekistan advanced directly to the quarter-finals.

No official explanation has been provided regarding why the three players were denied entry visas. The Cricket Association of Cambodia (CAC) has also not issued a public statement on the matter. Cambodia became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council in 2022 and played their first official T20 International matches at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, which they hosted in Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian team attracted significant attention during that tournament after 13 players of Indian or Pakistani origin received Cambodian passports shortly before the event. The squad was captained by Lugman Butt, who had previously played most of his domestic cricket in Pakistan. Cambodia went on to win gold medals in the T20I, T10, and 50-over competitions. However, the inclusion of the newly naturalised players and the timing of their citizenship approvals drew criticism from Malaysia.

“We noted that the passports were issued on April 23 this year, and the first match was played six days later, whereas the deadline for the shortlist was March 3. This begs the question, can amendments be made for as many as 13 players? If so, what is the purpose of a shortlist that was submitted beforehand?,” said the Malaysian Cricket Association as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The round-robin stage of this year’s Men’s Challenger Cup ultimately served only to eliminate one team. With ten teams participating and eight places available in the quarter-finals, the tournament format left little room for meaningful competition in the group stage.

Cambodia’s withdrawal and subsequent forfeiture of their matches effectively created the same situation in their group, ensuring that the remaining teams advanced automatically. In that three-team group, hosts Singapore and Maldives secured the two available quarter-final spots, narrowly finishing ahead of Myanmar.

How did Match 6 of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 go between India Women vs Pakistan Women

India Women registered a commanding 64-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan Women in Match No. 6 of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on June 14.

Batting first, India posted a competitive 170/6 in their 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a well-made half-century, while Richa Ghosh provided late acceleration with a brisk 34 off just 17 deliveries. For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana claimed two wickets apiece to keep India from posting an even bigger total.

In reply, Pakistan made a positive start to their chase, but India’s spin attack gradually tightened its grip on the contest. Muneeba Ali was the top scorer for Pakistan with 41 runs, but she received little support from the rest of the batting line-up. India’s bowlers dominated the second innings, with Shree Charani returning figures of 3/21. Veteran all-rounder Deepti Sharma starred with a five-wicket haul, dismantling Pakistan’s batting order.

Top batting performance of the match – Smriti Mandhana

Indian opener Smriti Mandhana produced a match-winning knock, scoring 68 runs off 44 deliveries. Her innings featured nine boundaries and two sixes, and she maintained an impressive strike rate of 154.55 throughout her stay at the crease. Mandhana played a crucial role in laying the foundation for India’s competitive total, particularly through her partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur. The duo stitched together a vital 91-run stand for the third wicket in just 63 balls, keeping the scoreboard moving at a brisk pace.

Top bowling performance of the match – Deepti Sharma

Right-arm spinner Deepti Sharma emerged as the standout bowling performer of the match with a sensational spell of 5/10 from her four overs. Deepti struck at regular intervals, removing Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Aliya Riaz, Nashra Sandhu, and Tasmia Rubab during her match-winning spell.

Records Broken and Major Milestones Achieved

• Smriti Mandhana has broken the record for most sixes (87) in WT20Is for IND-W.
• Deepti Sharma has become the highest wicket-taker in WT20Is with 166 wickets.
• Deepti Sharma took 350 international wickets across formats.

Who won the Player of the Match?

Deepti Sharma was named the Player of the Match for her outstanding all-round contribution, highlighted by a match-winning five-wicket haul against Pakistan. Her performance not only sealed a comprehensive win for India but also guided the team to their first victory of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, providing a major boost to their campaign.

What is the next match?

India Women will next face Netherlands Women on Wednesday, June 17, at Headingley, Leeds. Meanwhile, Pakistan Women will look to bounce back from their opening defeat when they take on South Africa Women on the same day at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Former Australian cricketer Lisa Sthalekar has said that the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) must improve its overall standards if it hopes to attract and retain top overseas players. Her comments come in the wake of a recent assessment by the World Cricketers’ Association, which evaluated major domestic T20 leagues using metrics developed in consultation with players, agents, and players’ associations.

Under the study’s criteria, major domestic leagues were defined as tournaments featuring five or more current players from ICC Full Member nations as overseas participants. The BPL finished at the bottom of the rankings.

Sthalekar urged the newly formed Cricket Welfare Association of Bangladesh to work closely with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to address longstanding issues surrounding the tournament. The BPL has faced repeated criticism in recent years over delayed or unpaid player salaries and allegations of match-fixing.

“What the World Cricketers’ Association does, and we have it on our website, is almost a traffic-light system of all the T20 leagues around the world. It’s to help players, administrators and agents understand what the issues have been and what the successful aspects of each T20 league are. Obviously, if you look at the BPL, its traffic light doesn’t have a lot of green, unfortunately. Speaking to Mithun (president of the CWAB), I said this is an opportunity for them as a new organisation and executive committee to work with the Bangladesh Cricket Board to ensure that overseas players want to come here and play, and that they can potentially move into the amber and green categories,” said Sthalekar as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“And for it to be a tournament that people want to travel to and be part of because you’ve got some wonderful facilities and some wonderful cricketers. Obviously, that’s shown by how Bangladesh have been able to perform in recent times. So hopefully, the two organisations can work together and ensure that the BPL is as strong and prosperous as it can be,” she added.

Sthalekar further stated that resolving payment-related disputes must be a top priority if the BPL is to improve its standing among the world’s leading T20 competitions. She believes the CWAB can play a significant role in addressing these concerns.

“I think for professional cricketers, it’s their job. All of you have jobs. You do your job, and you expect to be paid. I don’t think it makes a difference. A professional cricketer, if they’ve gone out and played cricket and done their job, should be paid for it. And if the system and structure have put frameworks and contracts in place, then they should be honoured. But that’s all domestic cricket, and that’s up to the players’ association here on the ground to work through,” said Sthalekar.

“What the World Cricketers’ Association tends to do is assist and help when we go into ICC events. We tend to operate at that next level. Our dealings are with the ICC; they’re not necessarily with the Bangladesh Cricket Board or Cricket Australia. That’s for the individual players’ association in each country. However, Mithun will be coming to London, where we have a board meeting. It’ll be exciting for him to be part of it, and no doubt he’ll learn a lot more about players’ associations and the programmes we run across the world,” she added.