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.

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.

How did the 1st ODI go between India and Afghanistan? — Review, Turning Points & more

Despite the threat of rain, India delighted the Dharamshala crowd by beating Afghanistan by seven wickets in the first ODI, in a game reduced to 25 overs per side. The Men in Blue have taken a 1-0 lead in this three-match series. 

After being put into bat by the hosts, Afghanistan went on to score 194, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz being the star of the show with the bat. The wicketkeeper-batter scored an outstanding century to take his side to the lofty total. The opener, however, lacked much support from the other end, with the visitors losing their way a little once Nitish Kumar Reddy got the better of Gurbaz. 

In reply, India chased down the total with more than two overs to spare, mainly thanks to captain Shubman Gill. The right-hander returned to his captaincy duties by scoring an unbeaten 84 off 66 deliveries, scoring at a strike-rate of 127.27. He was partnered brilliantly towards the end by KL Rahul, who applied the finishing touch, hitting 39 not out at a strike-rate of 205.26. 

Top batting performance of the match: Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the best batter on display during the ODI in Dharamshala despite Afghanistan ending up on the losing side. The right-handed batter was the main reason behind his side posting a respectable total in a rain-curtailed game. Gurbaz scored 102 off just 51 balls, an innings comprising eight fours and as many sixes to strike at exactly 200.

Top bowling performance of the match: Gurnoor Brar

Gurnoor Brar had a few voices before the series, but has silenced them in the best possible manner. The debutant was India’s best bowler in the first innings, ending with figures of 3 for 27 from 4.5 overs. He took crucial wickets of Ibrahim Zadran and the dangerous Rashid Khan towards the backend of Afghanistan’s innings. It is also worth mentioning that another debutant, Harsh Dubey, also ended up with three wickets of his own. 

Records Broken and Major Milestones Achieved:

• Rohit Sharma became the oldest cricketer to represent India in international cricket. (39 years, 44 days).
• Rohit Sharma: Surpassed 16,000 runs as an opener in international cricket. 
• Shubman Gill: Fastest Indian to 3,000 runs in ODI (62 innings). 
• Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar made their international debuts for India.
• Gurnoor Brar: Third-best bowling returns for India on ODI debut (3/27).
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz: Scored his ninth ODI century for Afghanistan. 

Who won the Player of the Match?

Shubman Gill was declared Player of the Match in the first ODI in Dharamshala. The Indian captain scored an unbeaten 84 off just 66 balls to help his side cross the finishing line. 

When is the next match?

The second ODI in this three-match series takes place on Wednesday, June 17, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.