New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the global players’ body the World Cricketers Association (WCA) are at loggerheads over player terms, which include name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
The fresh tussle between the two bodies has come at a time when the showpiece T20 spectacle is just around the corner, with just little over a week left for the global competition to begin. As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, the WCA has claimed that the global cricketing body has sent a version of the squad participations terms to players from several countries in the tournament that does not align with an agreed version signed by both the bodies in 2024.
It has been further claimed by the WCA that the new, non-agreed version is exploitative when compared to the 2024 version. The report further mentions that the WCA had written to the ICC about the issues and in response, the global cricketing body has disagreed saying that the 2024 agreement was only applicable to eight member boards.
ICC-WCA at loggerheads ahead of T20 WC
The ICC told WCA that the remaining members who are part of this T20 World Cup were not bound by the 2024 agreement. The eight NGBs are Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland – in as a replacement for Bangladesh, who have been excluded after they refused to travel to India.
Meanwhile, out of the remaining 12 participating countries, boards from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Oman and UAE refuse to recognise the WCA and hence, their players are not affiliated with it. Nations like Italy, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Namibia, USA and Canada do have player bodies but had not received the squad terms as of January 15, and were thus expected to get the non-approved version, the WCA said.
It is also being learnt that the ICC has not responded to WCA’s follow-up email which they sent earlier in the week.