New Delhi: In what comes up as a major development, USA cricket has shockingly ended its ties with funding partner American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) with immediate effect, putting the cricket board on risk of insolvency. Notably, ACE is the company that has created the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the US.
The news becomes worrisome especially after the country is set to host major cricket events in the next few months as the move will hamper the hosting process. As per a report on Cricbuzz, the decision was taken after a crucial board meeting which lasted for nearly three hours. Chairman of the board Venu Pisike presided the meeting with other members David Haubert, Srini Salver, Anj Balusu, and Pintoo Shah in attendance.
This step has ended the 50-year agreement with ACE. All the above mentioned members voted in favour of the decision at the same time outvoting directors Nadia Gruny, Kuljit Nijjar, Atul Rai, and Arjun Gona, who were against the move. This breakup between USA cricket and the company is quite risky as since the last 6 years, ACE has provided more than $10 million into USA Cricket, which covers player salaries, operations, and sanction fees, mentions the report.
Double risk for USA cricket
The report further mentions that USA Cricket could face a double risk with this move as they could possibly run out of money in the next few weeks and could also get entangled in a legal problem without ACE’s quarterly payments. The cricket board’s legal counsel has warned the members that the termination may not survive arbitration, with some terming the move as reckless. Despite the warnings, the board still went ahead with the decision.
With the preparations for the upcoming cricket tournaments in the line, the fate now hangs in the balance. While the exact reason for the fallout is not yet known but it is being learnt that it involves finances and the management of the USA national team.