Image Credit- Getty
The suspension of Sri Lanka Cricket, the future of One
Day International cricket, and the resuscitation of a high-performance
programme targeted at the elite Associates and select Full Members are all
expected to be discussed at the next ICC board meeting in Ahmedabad.
The ICC board meeting will be dominated by the
suspension of SLC last week. It will be discussed what restrictions might apply
to the suspension and whether Sri Lanka should still be the hosts of the men’s
under-19 World Cup in January and February.
Imran Khwaja, the deputy chair of the International
Criminal Court, is probably going to have a lot of clout because he has been
looking into possible political meddling for a while. While in Sri Lanka on a
fact-finding visit in May, he looked into the situation.
There may be talks over the future of the 50-over
format two days after the ODI World Cup final. At least two boards will be
advocating for the resuscitation of the 13-team ODI Super League, which was
recently abandoned. The 14-team men’s ODI World Cup in 2027 has already been
granted a new qualification road, meaning that the Super League, if it comes
back, can only play from 2028 onwards.
Zimbabwe – co-hosts of the 2027 ODI World Cup along
with South Africa and Namibia – are advocating for an analysis to be conducted
over the current World Cup to gauge its global popularity.
T20 cricket was last month formally confirmed as an
Olympic event for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, following its recent comeback to
the Asian and Commonwealth Games. Cricket will be formally included by the
board, and potential qualification routes are likely to be discussed.
After Los Angeles, some boards hope to see more than
six teams per gender at the next Olympics.