As Major League Cricket (MLC) Season 3 gets underway this week, several of the league’s top international stars are unexpectedly absent — and not for reasons of injury or form.
According to multiple sources, nearly all Afghan players contracted to play in MLC are now unable to enter the United States due to restrictions stemming from a Trump administration-era travel ban.
Four leading Afghan players — Rashid Khan (MI New York), Gulbadin Naib (Seattle Orcas), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Seattle Orcas), and Azmatullah Omarzai (MI New York) — are all currently barred from traveling to the U.S. and will miss this season of MLC.
The only Afghan player who is expected to take part is Noor Ahmad of the Texas Super Kings. His team, aware of the potential issue, proactively rescheduled his travel. Originally slated to arrive on June 11, Ahmad was instead flown in on June 9 and has already cleared immigration and arrived in the U.S.
The situation has left MLC teams scrambling. Afghan players have been key overseas contributors in MLC squads — both for their on-field performance and their growing global popularity. Rashid Khan, in particular, is one of world cricket’s biggest stars and was expected to be a headline player for MI New York.
The root cause of the issue lies in a Trump-era policy that imposes significant restrictions on the issuance of visas to Afghan nationals. Although the policy is under review and may be revisited by the current administration, it remains in force for now, severely impacting athletes trying to participate in U.S.-based sporting competitions.
With MLC season three beginning June 12, the window for resolving this issue has closed — at least for this season. MLC officials and team executives are expected to push for a long-term solution, especially as the league builds its international profile and the participation of stars like Rashid Khan is seen as vital for both on-field quality and global marketability.
For now, Noor Ahmad will represent Afghanistan alone in MLC 2025 — a stark contrast to the deep Afghan presence originally planned across multiple teams.
And as the US gets ready to co-host the FIFA World Cup next summer and the LA Olympics in 2028, the global sporting community will undoubtedly pay attention and become increasingly concerned about developments such as this one.
