ICC rules out reducing ODI matches to 40 overs and WTC expansion

Table of Contents

The International Cricket Council has increased the total membership as they have also granted Associate membership to the Mauritius Cricket Federation (MCF). They also made it clear that they had no intention to reduce the ODI format to 40 overs, as per a report in Cricbuzz.

With the inclusion of the Mauritius Cricket Federation, the number of associate members has increased to 99, and the number of full-time members remains 12.

Jay Shah-led ICC takes multiple key decisions in meeting

On Sunday, the ICC, headed by Jay Shah, took multiple crucial decisions regarding the membership of the cricket boards across the globe. The inclusion of a new cricket board reflects the Council’s aim to spread the game around the world. But they remain firm on the suspension of USA Cricket (USAC) and Cricket Canada (CC).

The cricket governing bodies of the United States of America and Canada remain suspended while the future of French cricket remains on notice. ICC took the decisions during its Annual Conference in Edinburgh.

As per media reports, the Council discussed the future of the USA and Canada cricket boards to ease the situation for them. After the discussion, the officials decided to continue the suspension over these two cricket boards. ICC’s stance against USAC is crucial considering the LA28 Olympics.

“The ICC also discussed at length the situation involving the associations in the US and Canada but, in the end, the world body’s administrators decided to maintain the status quo. The significance of restoring the membership to the USAC was recognized, particularly in the context of the LA28 Olympics, but a decision has been deferred,” Cricbuzz mentioned in their report on July 12.

Why does Canada cricket remain suspended

The national cricket board has been under suspension since September 2025. It is understood that the situation for Cricket Canada is different, as it is unclear why the ICC keeps the board under suspension. As per reports, the board is required to address some internal issues.

“The Canada issue is less clear. Cricket Canada will have to address certain internal issues, the details of which remain unclear,” a Cricket Canada source told the media house. ICC suspended Cricket Canada over the allegations of breaching membership obligations.

The step taken by the Council came as a major blow for the nation, as cricket was one of its growing sports in recent times. The cricket governing body of the nation was accused of corruption, coercion, and evidence of match fixing.

“In recent months, Canada’s cricket governing body has been the subject of explosive allegations from the Fifth Estate, CBC’s investigative unit. The show said its wide-ranging investigation found corruption, coercion, evidence of match-fixing and other misconduct within Cricket Canada,” The Guardian reported this more than a month before.

WTC to remain with 9 teams

Media reports also indicated that the allegations against the cricket board could be linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. In the recent past, the federal government of Canada designated the gang a terrorist entity. It was suspected that some of the well knowns of Canada Cricket could have been in contact with the gang.

In another significant development, the ICC mentioned that currently they have no immediate plan to expand the World Test Championship (WTC) to 12 teams by including Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland.