ICC considering restrictions on franchise cricket to prioritise health of international cricket
ICC to trial run use of pink-ball in traditional Tests in case of bad light
ICC to allow on-field umpires to use hawk-eye data to curb illegal bowling actions
The International Cricket Council has taken a series of significant decisions aimed at addressing some of the key challenges facing international cricket in an evolving sporting landscape.
ICC held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the sidelines of the IPL 2026 final and has taken some big decisions regarding the coexistence of T20 leagues with International cricket, the use of pink balls in Test cricket to save wastage of overs, equipping on-field umpires to catch chuckers, and curbing corruption and political interference in cricket.
The Indian Premier League being the marquee cricketing league takes up two months from the cricketing calendar. Apart from IPL, we have other popular cricketing league going on around the world such as SA20, ILT20, BBL, BPL, SLPL, The Hundred, and the CPL which go on all around the year.
Now with the European T20 Premier League, set to commence this year, making it a lucrative career option for quality T20 players who want to turn freelancers.
In this environment, where so many league across the globe are fighting for relevance and window, it's getting very difficult for other boards apart from the big three to hold onto their limited cricketing talent with the West Indies cricket being the prime example where Nicholas Pooran retired from international cricket before the age of 30 along with other players like Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.
"The Board expressed concern regarding the growing expanse of franchise cricket and resolved to form a committee to assess the harmonisation of franchise cricket with the international calendar within the current structure," the ICC said in a statement.
With so many leagues around, there is a serious threat to ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP) pertaining to bilateral cricket, as players are now refusing to sign contracts to become freelance cricketers, apart from India, which doesn't allow their First-Class players to play in foreign leagues.
Earlier, the various ICC committees over the years had proposed that there should be a cap on how many leagues a player can freelance in a particular season and also honour national commitments.
Trial Use Of Pink Balls In Bad-Light Affected Tests
ICC is planning to bring in the use of a pink ball in a red-ball Test match if there is a risk of loss of play due to bad light. It will be carried out on a trial basis and will only be implemented after prior agreement by both teams.
For example, if 75 overs of play is done in a traditional red-ball day, when bad light stops play with 15 overs still left to bowl, that part can be covered by using pink ball under floodlights only if the two teams have agreement prior to the series.
"Trialling the use of a pink ball in Test Matches, with prior agreement from both teams, to maximise play in case of anticipated bad light," an ICC statement read.
In this regard, the ICC Board also approved "undertaking research on lighting technology for match officials and venues to reduce lost play due to poor light, with ICC co-funding R&D projects alongside Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)."
Coaches Allowed In field Of play during drinks Intervals
The coaches and their assigned designees will now be allowed to enter the playing field during breaks just like we witness in the strategic time outs in T20s.
"Updates to the Playing Conditions to allow head coaches or their designees to consult with teams during scheduled drinks intervals, mandate 15-minute intervals in T20I matches, and require batters to be ready at the resumption of play."
Hawk Eye Data To Be Accessed To Curb Chucking
The ICC is has also decided to clamp down on the issue of mysterious bowling actions by allowing on-field umpires to have access to Hawk Eye Data to keep a check on illegal bowling action.
"Enabling match officials to access Hawk-Eye data when considering reporting an illegal bowling action," the rule states.
The ICC Board also approved "Permanent adoption of the leg-side wides trial." All ICC playing conditions will be implemented from October 1, 2026.
ICC Suspends Canada Cricket On Corruption Charges
The ICC Board resolved to suspend Cricket Canada from ICC membership with immediate effect due to serious breaches of its membership obligations.
"In taking this decision, the ICC Board was mindful of the importance of protecting the interests of Canadian players and ensuring they are not disadvantaged by the governance issues affecting the national governing body.
"To support the continued participation and development of the national teams, Cricket Canada will be permitted to access ICC funding through a controlled funding mechanism, under the oversight of ICC management, solely for approved national team programmes," the release stated.
The ICC will provide a set of restatement requirements to the Canadian Cricket Board to help them correct their governance and administrative shortcomings. The implementation of these conditions will be overseen by the Apex Body's Normalisation Committee and membership will be restored only if the requirements are fulfilled.
Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy
ICC has made a change in the Women's Champions Trophy 2027 window. The tournament which was earlier slated in June-July will now take place from 14-28 February 2-27. The ICC will pilot the Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026 as a 10-team event featuring five Full Members and five Associate Members, selected based on rankings and prior T20 World Cup qualification.
