USA president Donald Trump has imposed full or partial restrictions on residents of 19 countries from entering the country. This may affect the participation of Afghan nationals in the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC).
What restrictions have the US government imposed?
On June 4, Trump issued a proclamation titled “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”.
In that, he announced that he would “fully restrict and limit the entry” of nationals of 12 countries, and “partially restrict and limit the entry” of nationals of seven others. These restrictions “distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants”.
Which countries are on the list?
The “fully restricted” countries are Afghanistan, Burma [Myanmar], Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, while Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela nationals belong to the latter list.
Naturally, this puts the Afghan cricketers’ participation in this year’s MLC in jeopardy. The proclamation is effective at 12.01am Eastern Standard Time on June 9. MLC 2025 will begin on June 12.
How many Afghan cricketers have signed up for MLC 2025?
Seven, in all. Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Naveen-ul-Haq are part of the MI New York squad; Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Waqar Salamkheil all have contracts with the Seattle Orcas; and Noor Ahmad has signed up for the Texas Super Kings.
Are there exemptions for cricketers, or any athlete?
As per Section 4 (b) (iv) of the proclamation, there will be exceptions for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”
The USA is set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympics. However, it is not clear whether Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, will classify the MLC as a “major sporting event”.
But perhaps more significantly, 4 (i) states that the proclamation “shall apply only to foreign nationals of the designated countries who are outside the United States on the applicable effective date of this proclamation.” In other words, the Afghan cricketers may make it if they can enter the USA before June 9.
An ESPNcricinfo report mentioned an official of one of the three franchises assuring that “they would explore all options, including the possibility of flying affected players into the United States before the ban kicks in”.
The report also quoted an MLC official: “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.”
