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New Teams, Initiative For Afghan Women Cricket Announced; List Of Key Moves During ICC AGM

Soumyajit Dutta

ICC's Annual Conference [Source: @ICC_arbitration/X.com]ICC's Annual Conference [Source: @ICC_arbitration/X.com]

The ICC's annual conference concluded with major announcements, headlined by a dedicated support initiative for displaced Afghan women cricketers. For the unaware, the ICC's annual conference is a pivotal event, uniting cricket administrators and stakeholders from all 110 member nations worldwide. 

This global gathering serves as a crucial forum for charting the strategic direction, refining governance, and fostering the worldwide development of cricket, consistently delivering significant outcomes. Here's a list below that elaborates on the key outcomes of the meetings.

1. England Secures WTC Finals Hosting

Confirming England as the long-term home for Test cricket's showpiece event, the ICC announced,"The England and Wales Cricket Board have been awarded hosting rights for the next three World Test Championship Finals," in an official press release. This extends England's role after hosting the first three finals, including the recent South Africa vs. Australia clash at Lord's.

2. Afghan Women's Cricket Initiative Advanced

Secondly, the displaced Afghan Women cricketers will receive engagement opportunities. The ICC confirmed a multi-faceted support plan regarding this. As part of this initiative, the players will receive key engagement opportunities at ICC events, including the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 and the T20 World Cup in England next year, along with access to high-performance programs and domestic playing opportunities.

The initiative is being implemented through a collaborative effort led by the ICC under the supervision of Deputy Chair Mr Imran Khwaja, in partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and Cricket Australia (CA).

3. Membership Growth In The Panel

Notably, ICC also welcomed Timor-Leste Cricket Federation and Zambia Cricket Union as new Associate Members (total ICC membership now 110). "The ICC also welcomed two new Members, with Timor Leste Cricket Federation and Zambia Cricket Union included as Associate Members, taking the ICC’s total membership to 110," ICC stated in their official statement.

4. USA Cricket Given Three Additional Months

ICC also granted USA Cricket three additional months to implement critical governance reforms. The time allotted to the country will be utilised to implement comprehensive governance reforms, which include, but are not limited to, conducting free and fair elections within the given timeframe.

5. Chief Executives' Committee Appointments

The conference also included elections to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC). As part of the announcements, Gurumurthy Palani (France Cricket), Anuraag Bhatnagar (Cricket Hong Kong, China), and Gurdeep Klair (Cricket Canada) were elected as Associate Member representatives to the committee.