On the eve of ICC Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad, International Cricket Council (ICC) officials will meet to discuss a string of important topics at the quarterly meeting on Saturday. The ICC board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, two days after the WC final. The main topics of discussion at the ICC Board Meeting are the suspension of Sri Lanka Cricket, the future of ODIs and the ICC Champions Trophy format among others.
ICC chief Greg Barclay, Jay Shah and all board officials including Zaka Ashraf among others are expected to attend.
ICC Board Meeting Agenda:
- Cricket’s return in LA Olympics 2028.
- Revenue distribution model for 2023-27.
- ICC Champions Trophy 2025 format.
- Suspension of Sri Lanka Cricket.
- Future of ODIs.
- Revival of high-performance programme.
Suspension of Sri Lanka Cricket:
One of the important topics of discussion will be SLC suspension. ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket last week for political interference. But with Sri Lanka supposed to host the U19 World Cup in January-February, ICC has to discuss the SLC’s fate. If SLC remains suspended, the tournament has to be moved to a different country.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 format:
Another likely topic of discussion could be the format of ICC Champions Trophy 2025. ICC’s official broadcast partner Disney Star had put in a request to change the format from 50-overs to T20. With diminishing sponsorship returns and crowd, ODIs are not popular anymore. Even though ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has already attracted over a million fans to the stadiums, there have not been big crowds in league games for non-India matches.
But ICC also has to mull the overdose of T20s and keep T20 World Cup relevant. Currently, there is a T20 WC every two years. Add the Olympics to the equation, it will only increase. The rise of franchise cricket is another and it can lead to viewers’ fatigue that even the Indian Premier League has experienced in the past.
Future of ODIs:
While there is no immediate danger to 50-over cricket, it is not as popular anymore. And two days after Cricket World Cup final, ICC will discuss the fate. As per an ESPNCricinfo report, at least two boards will argue for a return of the ODI Super League that was scrapped earlier this year. Instead, ICC brought back ranking-based qualifying for WC 2027.
“I don’t think the problem is with the ODI format. There aren’t enough teams in the World Cup, even 14 isn’t enough. And there won’t be context without the Super League. We need ODI cricket. We can’t afford to not have it. It is still a money-maker for us and many countries,” Zimbabwe Cricket chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani told ESPNCricinfo.
