Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the Chairman of ICC’s Cricket Committee, the global governing body of the game announced on Wednesday.
Ganguly will be replacing his former India teammate Anil Kumble, who has served the maximum of three, three-year terms after being appointed in 2012.
Commenting on the development, 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 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,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ICC Board also announced some other crucial decisions like the formation of a Working Group to review the status of cricket in Afghanistan after the recent governmental change.
Imran Khwaja has been named Chairman of this Group that includes Ross McCollum, Lawson Naidoo and Ramiz Raja.
“The ICC Board is committed to continuing to support Afghanistan Cricket to develop both men’s and women’s cricket moving forward,” Barclay said.
“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,” he added.
Earlier, although the ICC had opted for a wait-and-watch approach on Afghanistan but had said that it will discuss the future of cricket in the war-torn nation nation in its board meeting in November.
After Afghanistan came under Taliban’s rule in August, the future of cricket has been uncertain with Cricket Australia (CA) recently postponing the one-off test in Hobart, was was slated to be held in November end in Brisbane.
After ousting the Afghanistan’s elected government in August this year, few senior Taliban leaders had said that Afghan women would no longer play cricket or any other sport under their regime which didn’t go well with Cricket Australia and even the ICC.
Recently, when asked if the women cricketers not being allowed to take part would result in its men’s team getting suspended, Allardice had said that the global body will not interfere in bilateral arrangements.
Moreover, the board also announced to stick to the existing format of the World Test Championship (WTC) where nine teams play over a period of two years with the top two facing off in a final.
With the number of participating teams in the ODI World Cup increased to 14 again for the 2027 edition, the ICC has decided that the top 10 teams in the rankings at a predetermined cutoff date will qualify automatically for the tournament. The rest of the slots will be determined via a qualifier.