The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Cricket Canada’S membership with immediate effect in response to what it called ‘serious breaches’ of the body’s membership requirements.
At the same time, steps have been taken to ensure that Canadian players and national teams are not negatively impacted. The decision was made during a recent meeting of the ICC Board in Ahmedabad, which emphasised the need to protect players’ interests while acknowledging the administrative and governance issues surrounding Cricket Canada.
Why ICC Suspended Cricket Canada’s Membership?
Over the past few weeks, Cricket Canada has been engaged in controversy. The ICC is looking into charges of selection pressure and attempted match-fixing made by former coach Khurram Chohan in a leaked call, as well as Canada’s T20 World Cup match against New Zealand.
“It 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,” the ICC said in a statement.
The men’s and women’s national representative teams from Canada will still be able to compete in ICC events during the suspension. Additionally, the international governing body affirmed that Cricket Canada would continue to receive funding in a regulated system under the direction of ICC management.
“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 ICC said.
Cricket Canada will now receive a set of requirements from the ICC that must be fulfilled in order for membership to be reinstated. Together with ICC management, the ICC Normalisation Committee will keep an eye on the requirements’ advancement. Only when the Board is satisfied that all requirements have been met will reinstatement be taken into consideration.