Sourav Ganguly appointed chairman of ICC Men’s Cricket Committee; succeeds Anil Kumble

The
important
decision
was
taken
in
the
ICC
Board
meeting
held
here.
The
ICC
Board
also
ratified
a
few
major
decisions
pertaining
to
cricket
in
Afghanistan
in
light
of
Taliban
assuming
reins
of
that
nation
and
the
World
Test
Championship.

ICC
Chairman
Greg
Barclay
said:
“I
am
delighted
to
welcome
Sourav
to
the
position
of
Chair
of
the
ICC
Men’s
Cricket
Committee.
His
experience
as
one
of
the
world’s
best
players
and
latterly
as
an
administrator
will
help
us
shape
our
cricketing
decisions
moving
forward.

“I
would
also
like
to
thank
Anil
(Kumble)
for
his
outstanding
leadership
over
the
last
nine
years
which
has
included
improving
the
international
game
through
more
regular
and
consistent
application
of
DRS
and
a
robust
process
for
addressing
suspect
bowling
actions.”

The
ICC
Board
also
approved
the
continuation
of
the
ICC
World
Test
Championship
(WTC)
in
its
current
form
of
a
nine-team
league
over
a
two-year
period
with
a
final
between
the
top
two
teams
at
the
conclusion.

Following
the
expansion
of
the
ICC
Men’s
Cricket
World
Cup
to
a
14-team
event
in
the
next
cycle
2027,
the
ICC
Board
accepted
a
recommendation
from
the
Chief
Executives’
Committee
that
the
primary
avenue
for
qualification
for
the
event
be
based
on
rankings
at
a
pre-determined
cut-off
date
with
the
10
highest-ranked
teams
on
the
ODI
Rankings
qualifying
automatically,
and
the
remainder
being
determined
via
a
global
qualifier.

The
ICC
Board
approved
that
the
First-Class
status
and
List
A
classification
will
be
applied
to
women’s
cricket
to
align
with
the
men’s
game
and
applied
retrospectively.

Going
forward
the
ICC
Women’s
Committee
will
be
known
as
the
ICC
Women’s
Cricket
Committee
and
will
assume
all
decision
making
responsibility
for
women’s
cricket
reporting
directly
to
the
CEC
Johnny
Grave.

Grave,
the
CEO
of
Cricket
West
Indies,
has
been
appointed
to
the
ICC
Women’s
Cricket
Committee.

Finally,
the
ICC
Board
appointed
a
Working
Group
to
review
the
status
of
the
Afghanistan
Cricket
Board
and
cricket
in
Afghanistan
in
light
of
the
recent
governmental
changes
in
the
country.

The
group
comprises
Imran
Khwaja
(Chair),
Ross
McCollum,
Lawson
Naidoo
and
Ramiz
Raja
(Pakistan
Cricket
Board
chief)
and
will
report
back
to
the
Board
over
the
coming
months.

Barclay
said:
“The
ICC
Board
is
committed
to
continuing
to
support
Afghanistan
Cricket
to
develop
both
men’s
and
women’s
cricket
moving
forward.
We
believe
the
most
effective
way
for
this
to
happen
will
be
to
support
our
Member
in
its
efforts
to
achieve
this
through
its
relationship
with
the
new
government.

“Cricket
is
fortunate
to
be
in
the
position
to
influence
positive
change
in
Afghanistan
with
the
national
men’s
team
a
source
of
great
pride
and
unity
in
a
country
with
a
young
population
that
has
experienced
more
upheaval
and
change
than
most.

“We
should
protect
that
status
and
continue
to
try
to
influence
change
through
the
ACB
but
will
continue
to
closely
monitor
the
situation
and
take
any
decisions
accordingly.”