Jay Shah at an ICC event - (Source: AFP)
ICC has scheduled its annual general meeting for Wednesday, July 8, in Edinburgh. 12 full members will gather in Scotland to discuss the future of cricket. Notably, the Jay Shah-led council has its agenda sorted, and there are key changes that are expected to be discussed in that meeting.
Annual General Meetings often result in drastic changes in the sport, and the same is expected on Wednesday. Notably, a report from the Guardian mentioned that the three key changes proposed are shortening ODIs, the World Club Championship, and expanding the World Test Championship (WTC).
ICC Mulling Shortening ODIs
The first suggestion is to shorten the ODI window. Notably, the International Cricket Council is planning for ODIs to being played only in the 18 months leading up to a World Cup. Which means that there will be no fifty-over cricket for 2.5 years in a four year cycle.
Not just that, but the ICC is also planning to shorten the ODI, which means that the format can have just 40 or even fewer overs going forward. It is also exploring adding more events to its portfolio, with bilateral series not involving two of England, India and Australia having little commercial value.
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In the past, several debates have opened up on the future of ODIs. The internet, including cricket pundits, have been divided on this topic. Several active and former cricketers have opined that the fifty-over format should be scrapped because of the lost interest.
ICC Looking To Take Charge Of World Club Championship
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa operated a T20 Champions League involving franchise teams between 2009 and 2014, but it got scrapped in 2015 because of financial woes.
However, there were reports of its revivial since franchise cricket is being played all across the globe. In a first, the ICC is planning to take charge of the World Cup Championship. The idea is most likely to face objection from rich-cricket boards because they will no longer be sole owners of the revnue.
Expansion Of WTC
At present, only nine of the 12 full-member nations take part in the WTC. The third and another important proposed move is to expand the World Test Championship to 12 teams.
Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are in line to be admitted, which would only be possible if one-off Tests are deemed eligible for WTC points.
A final decision on the WTC format is expected in November. It is worth noting that the changes, if approved won't be implemented until the FTP cycle ends in 2027, which has already allocated the windows to the full-members to host biltateral series or play multi-nation tournaments.
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