The visa dispute in the ACC Men’s Challenger Cup has completely reshaped the tournament. In the ongoing ACC Men’s Challenger Cup in Singapore, Cambodia’s cricket team suffered a major setback when it failed to field a full squad forcing it to withdraw from all its matches.
According to tournament officials, three Cambodian players were unable to obtain visas upon arrival in Singapore while another player sustained an injury leaving the team unable to meet the required number of players.
Following Cambodia’s withdrawal, Indonesia and Uzbekistan who were in the same group advanced to the quarterfinals without playing any matches.
It is still unclear why the players visas were rejected. It is worth noting that Cambodia became an ICC Associate Member in 2022.
Cambodia hosted the 2023 Southeast Asian Games where its team included 13 naturalized players from India and Pakistan. These players were granted Cambodian citizenship just days before the tournament began, a move that was also objected to by Malaysia.
