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The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday (1st June) where a lot of key decisions are expected to take place. Issues like the venue for upcoming T20 World Cup, the future tours & programs for 2023-31 cycle and the ongoing tax issue with the BCCI are expected to be discussed. Welcome to the live blog where we will bring all the latest updates from the highly-important meeting.
10:10 PM IST: That's a wrap up on a busy day!
A lot has been decided in ICC's virtual meeting on Tuesday. Apart from getting a clarity on all the future global events, the big news of the day is that BCCI have got an extension till 28th June to come up with a concrete plan on organizing the 2021 T20 World Cup in India. If they fail to do so, the tournament will be conducted in UAE with the possibility of including another venue in the Middle East. However, the hosting rights will stay with BCCI irrespective of wherever the tournament is conducted. A lot of things will unfold in the month of June. Stay tuned for all the latest updates on the same. Good Night!
10:05 PM IST: Hosts of upcoming ICC events to be decider later this year
Reflecting on the hosts for all the events announced, ICC said in an official statement, "The ICC Board also approved the process for determining the hosts for all Men’s, Women’s and U19 events in the next cycle. The hosts for the Men’s events will be decided in September following a selection process that will get underway this month. The hosting process for Women’s and U19 events will commence in November and will be an opportunity to engage with a wider range of Members including first-time hosts."
10:oo PM IST: Champions Trophy returns to ICC calendar
The Champions Trophy is set to take place in 2025 and 2029 and will follow the same format which was used in 2013 and 2017. There will be two groups of 4 teams each with top 2 from both the groups qualifying for the semi-finals, which will be followed by a final.
9:55 PM IST: 20 teams in Men's T20 World Cup
There will be 20 teams in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030 editions. The format of the tournament will see four groups of 5 teams each. The top two teams from each group will advance to Super 8 stage which will be followed by semi-finals and final.
9:50 PM IST: Format of ICC ODI World Cup
The ODI World Cups are set to feature 14 teams in 2027 and 2031 edition. The event will have two groups of 7 teams each, with top 3 teams progressing to Super 6 stage. It will be followed by semi-finals and final. It will be a similar format which was used in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2003.
9:20 PM IST: Major decisions taken for upcoming ICC events
ICC Men's T20 World Cup will have 20 teams in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030 editions. ICC Champions Trophy is also set to return in 2025 and 2029 and will feature 8 teams. Meanwhile, the ICC Men's ODI World Cup will be back to 14-team tournament in 2027 and 2031.
8:55 PM IST: World Test Championship to continue
The future of World Test Championship was also one of the main agendas of the ICC meeting today. Notably, with the inaugural edition coming to an end with India and New Zealand playing out the finals, ICC have decided to go ahead with the WTC Championship for the next cycle as well.
8:50 PM IST: BCCI will retain the hosting rights in any case
BCCI will notably observe how things pan out in the month of June in terms of COVID-19 situation in the country. However, they fail to come up with a final plan by June 28, the tournament might shift to UAE although BCCI will still retain the hosting rights for the tournament.
8:15 PM IST: BCCI gets time till June 28 to decide on T20 World Cup
"Yes, the ICC board has agreed to BCCI's request and they will have time till June 28 to decide on hosting the T20 World Cup In India. They will come back to the board next month with a concrete plan, "a source close to ICC board told PTI on Tuesday.
7:55 PM IST: Good News! ICC have announced a Future Leaders Programme for accelerating the growth of women's cricket. "40 women from 29 ICC Member countries have been selected to be mentored as part of the ICC 100% Cricket Future Leaders Programme designed to support emerging female talent in cricket," stated ICC in an official statement.
The programme is set up to build a pipeline of new female leaders in world cricket. It will be split in two batches and will also feature one Indian in each batch. In the first batch beginning this month, referee Vijeylaxmi Narasimhan will take part while Harini Rana will join the second batch commencing in November.
7:02 PM IST: Whether BCCI has formally sought a period of one month from ICC to make the call on the T20 World Cup is the biggest question as of now but from what the board members including Vice-President Rajiv Shukla had said it looked almost a certain in their plans and it's only a matter of confirmation before the news breaks out.
6:30 PM IST: There is nothing official that has been put forward by either the ICC or the BCCI till now. We are expected to have more clarity only as we head closer to the ICC annual conference commencing July 18.
5:05 PM IST: The decision on number of World Cup teams is also a significant one for the forthcoming events and could set the platform for the growth of the game. Currently, the 50-over World Cup allows 10 teams in a round-robin format in the main event with the top four teams playing semifinals but there are plans to expand it to 14 sides and bring back the Super Six format from the 2027 World Cup.
4:29 PM IST: It's a significant meet on many levels and thus all eyes are firmly set on the updates coming in from the ICC Board meet.
4:00 PM IST: As expected, seems like the major announcements would be made only after the ICC's annual meeting. However, let's see if we could bring some developments from the virtual meet.
3:28 PM IST: Another discussion point would be the ICC World Test Championship. While the first cycle was impacted with many series cancelled due to the pandemic and ICC receiving a lot of backlashes for changing rules midway through the season, a decision is expected on the forthcoming cycles.
2:28 PM IST: One ICC event every year? Yes, that's what will be discussed as the ICC is mulling eight ICC events in the 2023-31 cycle with a 50-over Champions Trophy-style tournament making a comeback. This will also mean more opportunities for associate nations to compete and prove their might at a world stage.
1:48 PM IST: How to accommodate Pakistan team in case the T20 World Cup indeed happens in India will be another key area of discussion. This is because the security of the team will also need to be factored in, when deciding the venues where the Men in Green would play their matches.
1:07 PM IST: Among other issues to be discussed at the ICC Board meet will be the tax issue. For the unversed, the ICC is demanding a tax exemption from the BCCI for hosting the T20 World Cup this year and the 50-over World Cup in 2023.
12:52 PM IST: It is to be outlined here that the BCCI does not want to let go of this opportunity to host the T20 World Cup in India. But although currently the COVID-19 cases are coming down, the Board is not in a situation to commit to the safe conduct of the tournament especially after what happened in IPL 2021.
Earlier, a board member had even said that they are willing to host the entire tournament in the Mumbai-Pune-Ahmedabad zone to reduce travel and hence the risk of getting infected.
12:13 PM IST: Notably, in sync with ICC's mission of global growth of the game, India had agreed to participate in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Meanwhile, BCCI's in-principle approval to take part in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics also comes as a massive boost as ICC wants to spread the game equally in over 100 countries.
11:54 AM IST: Another major agenda that ICC will look to address is global growth of the game with special emphasis on women's cricket. This could mean more spectator friendly and mindful planning of men's and women's sports.
10:47 AM IST: Another major discussion point in this meeting could be the ICC Futures Tours & Programme Cycle for the next eight years between 2023 to 2031. However, whatever decisions are taken today, the ICC is likely to make a formal announcement of it only during its annual conference starting on July 18.
10:13 AM IST (Tuesday, 1st June 2021): Hello everyone, welcome to today's blog. Important decisions will be taken in today's virtual meeting organised by ICC. Stay connected as we bring in the latest updates as early as possible.
11:15 PM IST: Big day tomorrow!
A lot is expected to be decided in the ICC virtual meeting tomorrow (June 1, Tuesday). Do join us tomorrow morning for all the latest updates on the same. Good Night!
11:00 PM IST: ICC set to switch to old formula for ODI World Cup
After the 10-team World Cup in 2019 received some criticism, the International Cricket Council (ICC) are expected to accept the proposal of participation of 14 teams from the 2023 edition of ODI World Cup. The same format was used in 2003, 2011 and 2015.
10:00 PM IST: BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla reaches Dubai
BCCI VP Rajeev Shukla, along with BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal have already landed in UAE. "I am already here. Now a team of BCCI office-bearers, President Sourav Ganguly, Secretary Jay Shah and the IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel will be coming here in a couple of days,” Shukla told Khaleej Times.
It was earlier decided that BCCI President Sourav Ganguly will attend the ICC meeting in person in Dubai. However, the plans were later changed as he is still in India and will join virtually. However, he will be leaving for UAE on Wednesday (along with Jay Shah and Brijesh Patel) to have a meeting with Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to finalize the talks about organization of remainder of IPL 2021 in Sep-Oct.
BCCI expected to request ICC for one month's time
There are huge question marks over India hosting the 2021 T20 World Cup after the second wave of COVID-19. Although the board had shortlisted Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow, Dharamsala, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad as the host cities for the event earlier this year, the second wave of coronavirus in the country and the subsequent suspension of IPL 2021 has out the mega-event in jeopardy.
With the pandemic situation improving slightly in the country, BCCI are still hopeful of hosting the World Cup in India. They will notably ask for a minimum of one month's time to observe the situation in the country. "The COVID-19 cases are reducing but obviously it is still not a situation where we can firmly commit to hosting the World T20. Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah are right in asking for one month’s time to decide,” a senior BCCI source told PTI.