Test cricket’s future might be a key talking point at the ICC’s quarterly meetings (Photo by Quinn … More
It’s felt like Jay Shah has been in the hot seat of running global cricket – though some hard-bitten observers would argue he was already steering the wheel as the boss of all-powerful India – for an eternity.
As can be gleaned by his social media accounts, he’s been incredibly busy traversing the world from Brisbane to Lausanne, mixing it with the bigwigs of world sport in his new role as the chair of the International Cricket Council.
Shah also did not even bother hiding overt patriotism during India’s triumph at the Champions Trophy final in rather cringe-worthy scenes. It feels like ages but Shah has actually only been in the top job since December and will be presiding over his first official ICC board meetings in the coming days in Zimbabwe.
Jay Shah after India won the Champions Trophy (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
It is the first time Zimbabwe, a smaller Full Member nation emerging as a destination for major cricket events, will host cricket’s conclave. Here are the pressing issues expected to be thrashed out although some may not end up being discussed.
Test divisions
As I wrote recently, there is expected to be discussion over a radical proposal to split the 12 Test countries into two divisions. It is unlikely to be tabled officially, with details sketchy. Some board directors remain in the dark, with only a report from The Age newspaper in January filling in the blanks.
A sticking point could be promotion and relegation, with ICC board director and Zimbabwe chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani telling me that he would vote against any proposal that did not include it.
In-game bonus points and extra points for away wins for the World Test Championship, as reported in The Telegraph, are set to be ratified at the meetings.
T20 World Cup Inquiry
There is expected to be an update into an inquiry over whether there was a cost blowout – believed to be around $20 million – for the U.S. leg of last year’s T20 World Cup. Deputy chair Imran Khwaja has helmed the inquiry, which includes an audit into the U.S. leg – which hosted 16 of the 55 matches in cricket’s first major event in the world’s biggest sports market.
There is a particular focus on New York’s modular stadium in Long Island and whether there was a cost blowout on a ground that received criticism for its sluggish drop-in pitch with batting proving particularly difficult.
The ground, which hosted eight matches including the money-spinning India-Pakistan clash, was built in just a few months and pegged at $30 million – as I first reported last April.
The Nassau County International stadium was torn down the day after hosting its final match. There was a shake-up of senior positions at the ICC in the aftermath of the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan and India played each other in New York (Photo by J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via … More
Star dispute
There will be discussions over a $3 billion dispute between the ICC and its major broadcast rights holder Star stemming from a deal – for the rights to broadcast global cricket rights into India from 2024-27 – the two parties originally struck in 2022.
Star chiefs want to renegotiate the deal and reduce its value by up to half after the original deal was made on the understanding that it would on-sell a portion of the deal to ZeeTV. But ZeeTV’s merger deal with Sony collapsed and it left Star to foot the entire bill.
Afghanistan women’s cricket
There is likely to be an update over the Afghanistan women’s situation, cricket’s thorniest – and saddest – issue. But it is almost certain that there will be no sanctions slapped on the Afghanistan Cricket Board.
Women’s cricket has ended in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s bloody takeover in 2021 and Australia and England have taken human rights stances in regards to the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan. They have pledged to cut bilateral ties against Afghanistan while the Taliban is in power.
Developing women’s cricket is a key component of Full Membership, which is only granted to 12 cricket nations – Afghanistan being one of them – and provides access to funding, power and prestige.
But there is a widespread reluctance on the ICC board to sanction the Afghanistan governing body in measures that would essentially paralyze the fan favorite Afghanistan men’s team.
Despite mounting pressure over the issue, which again was in the spotlight in January after Australia hosted an Afghanistan Women’s XI in Melbourne, stripping Full Membership continues to not be contemplated. Last year, there was a push led by Australia to set aside a percentage of Afghanistan revenue to fund women’s cricket.
Afghanistan Women’s XI played in Melbourne in January (Photo by MARTIN KEEP/AFP via Getty Images) … More
But it failed to materialize due to the high cost of the Afghanistan men’s team. They do not play cricket at home due to security issues and have been mostly based in the UAE and India.
A working group helmed by Khwaja – that was set to be disbanded but has remained intact – is expected to provide an update at the meetings.
2028 Olympics
It was revealed during the week that there will be six teams each per gender for the cricket competitions at the Los Angeles Olympics. But unknowns remain over the qualifying system and venues.
The qualification format and whether host country U.S. deserve automatic slots are likely to be debated.
It has been previously mooted that Olympic spots would be allocated to the top six in the ICC’s men’s and women’s T20 rankings at a cut-off date. But there have been calls for qualifying tournaments to be implemented although cricket’s crammed calendar could make that difficult.
ODI Super League
The future of ODI cricket remains in the spotlight. There are a handful of boards pushing for the revival of the scrapped 13-team ODI Super League although a final decision at the meetings is unlikely.
The Super League can not return any time soon due to a new qualification pathway already approved for the 14-team 2027 World Cup.
ICC chief executive appointment nears
In a move widely expected for some time, ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice resigned in January but has remained in the role until his successor is appointed. The search is almost over with an announcement expected in the coming weeks, it is learned.
Late last year, when Allardice’s future appeared tenuous, Sanjog Gupta, Disney Star head of sports, had been bandied around as a possible replacement, according to industry sources.
Geoff Allardice is stepping down as ICC chief (Photo by Patrick Bolger-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
July’s AGM
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the ICC quarterly meetings have mostly been held at the Dubai headquarters or timed to coincide with major ICC events. It had previously been held in a number of countries, including Associate nations Scotland and Singapore, as members travelled far and wide.
There is an appetite to again hold meetings in different locations as underlined by the historic visit to Zimbabwe. It appears July’s Annual General Meeting will return to Singapore for the first time since 2011 after several European countries were considered.
