ICC MEETING

ICC grants T20I status to all 104 member countries

by Ganesh Chandrasekaran • Last updated on

The ICC made the announcement in a press conference in Kolkata © Getty

The International Cricket Council announced on Thursday (April 26) that all its 104 member nations - both men and women's team - will be granted T20I status.

ICC CEO David Richardson confirmed the development in a press conference in Kolkata and also stated that a global ranking system will be launched for the format.

At present, there are 18 members with T20I status - 12 full members plus Scotland, Netherlands, Hong Kong, UAE, Oman and Nepal.

"All Women's team matches will be awarded T20 International status on July 1, 2018. All the men's team matches will be given T20 International status on January 1, 2019," Richardson said.

On stricter punishments...

In the wake of a controversy-marred Test series between South Africa and Australia, the ICC also stated that they will clamp down heavily on infringements like ball tampering and sledging.

"Stricter and heavier transactions for ball tampering and using abusive language, sledging and dissent. We want penalties in place. Fines are not proving to be the answer. The cricket committee will come back with plans," Richardson said.

On the future of Champions Trophy...

Even before the completion of the Champions Trophy 2017, the future of the multi-team event has been up in the air. There have been talks of scraping the trophy altogether, but Richardson has now stated that: "In all likelihood, the 2021 Champions Trophy will be a World T20." While the decision to convert the 2021 edition has met with some reservations from BCCI, the decision now stands finalised. The move would mean that there will be two back-back World T20 events in 2020 (in Australia) and in 2021 (in India). According to Richardson, the World T20 will continue to take place every two years after 2021 while the 50-over World Cup will take place every four years.

Citing the need for the change, Richardson said, "In the end, we are going to end up with 12 Test teams, 30-40 countries play ODI cricket and the rest all play T20 cricket. So I think the global events that take place should be reflective of that balance. Plus, of course, the 50-over World Cup will continue to be one of our huge events. We certainly don't want to take anything away from that event. The Champions Trophy was always too similar to the World Cup. The 13-team ODI league is a huge step in making sure that the ODIs have a lot more context."

The final structure of the FTP:

ICC Cricket World Cup - 2019, 2023

ICC World T20 - 2020, 2021

ICC World Test Championship Final - 2021, 2023

World Test Championship

Cycle 1 - 2019-2021

Cycle 2 - 2021-2023

ICC Cricket World Cup Qualification League - 2020-2022

All bilateral Tests, ODIs and T20Is outside of the above competitions.

On the proliferation of T20 leagues ...

The ICC also discussed T20 leagues and their impact on international calendars. Earlier this year, there were reports doing the rounds that from the year 2020, there won't be any international cricket played during the IPL - paving the way for a separate window for the T20 league.

Richardson said: "There are occasions where they [T20 leagues] are competing with international bilateral series. We need to look at our regulations to see how we can allow that to happen."

The way forward could see the ICC take decisions in restricting the number of T20 leagues that a player can take part in by way of issuing NOCs and also regulations on private promoters of the T20 leagues to pay sanctions to the ICC. Adding that it was a 'complex issue', Richardson said that a group comprising members of the ICC's Chief Executive Committee, player representatives from Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) and lawyers have been tasked with building a framework from a 'practical and legal point of view'.

On India, Pakistan not being part of the first FTP ...

"There is a common desire that it will be great if India and Pakistan can play each other, specifically in bilateral series. The issue is quite complicated I am afraid, it is going to take a lot more than just two boards agreeing," Richardson said.

He confirmed that the two teams will not be playing in the first schedule of the ICC Test championship that is set to take place between 2019 and 2021. The two boards of the respective countries are in the midst of a dispute that will be resolved in October this year. The key point of debate being whether there was a legally binding agreement between the two boards to play international cricket. While the BCCI's stance is that the email sent was nothing more than a letter of intent, the PCB is of the view that it constitutes an agreement. PCB's chief Najam Sethi had also earlier said that the board was agreeing to the FTP constituted now with a clause that could allow them to play against India if the dispute is resolved in their favour.

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