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

Dubai, November 17: Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, on Wednesday (November 17) has been appointed as the chairman of ICC Men’s Cricket Committee after Anil Kumble’s nine-year term, spread over three terms maximum, ended this month.

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.”