COLOMBO: The International Cricket Council (ICC) established a three-member committee to “review the delivery” of the T20 World Cup that took place in the USA and the West Indies after concluding its four-day Annual Conference here on Monday, as widely expected.
The committee shall comprise three directors- Imran Khwaja who is ICC’s second-in-command, former New Zealand batsman Roger Twose and Lawson Naidoo.
On completion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), ICC said in a statement that “The ICC Board confirmed that there will be a review into the delivery of the ICC T20 World Cup.”
According to reports, playing matches in New York, Florida and Dallas has costed ICC over $20m. As Pankaj Khimji from Oman highlighted, tournament expenses for US leg exceeded budget limits by far.
Although it was reported earlier that two ICC officials resigned because of alleged misconduct during the course of this championship, a reliable source at the cricket governing body tells us today that Claire Furlong and Chris Tetley had decided to step down last year already but were requested to remain until Women’s T20 World Cup (Furlong) as well as Champions Trophy next year (Tetley).
No discussion on India’s CT show
However, according to TOI sources, there was no mention about India’s participation in 2025 ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to take place in Pakistan.
USA, Chile put on notice
Cricket Chile along with USA Cricket have been officially warned by the board and they have 12 months within which they must meet Associate Membership criteria set out by ICC; this comes as a huge blow for cricket in America following their national team’s shock wins against Pakistan en route to making it to T20 World Cup Super 8s.
USAC apparently violated AM Protocols two times over – non-existence of fulltime CEO and absence of recognition by US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Women’s T20 WC to have 16 teams
In line with its current commitment to gender parity between the sexes, the ICC Board has also permitted an increase in the number of teams in Women’s T20 World Cup to sixteen by 2030.
The CEC also approved Paul Reiffel, a former Australian bowler, as a representative of the Elite Panel Cricket Committee.