ICC suffers heavy losses in hosting T20 World Cup

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday formed a three-member committee to "review the delivery" of the T20 World Cup which was co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies last month.

It is understood that ICC incurred losses in excess of USD 20 million for conducting matches in New York, Florida and Dallas.

It is learnt that the allocated budget for the US leg of the tournament was around USD 150 million and it was found that the budget had overshot by a fair distance which was red-flagged by certain influential board members of the global body.

Poor quality of drop-in pitches, ticketing system and the logistical issues added to the ICC's woes. A close look at how various tenders were handed out also raised concerns.

The role of some top ICC executives will also be thoroughly looked into by the committee. Already, head of events Chris Tetley has tendered his resignation although the official reason given was that an ICC flagship event every year (men and women) was taking its toll.

Additionally, the governing body for cricket in the United States, popularly known as USAC, has been formally put on notice and given 12 months to comply with ICC's Associate Membership criteria. 

It is learnt that USAC has not complied with the norms of the USA Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), which is mandatory to get recognition as National Governing Body (NGB) to be a part of Los Angeles Games in 2028 where cricket is one of the medal events.

The Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) confirmed the allocation of the eight regional qualifying spots for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

This would see two teams qualify from Africa and Europe, one from the Americas and three from a combined Asia and EAP regional final. The ICC, with its long-term strategic commitment to equity across the men's and women's game, also confirmed the expansion of the women's T20 World Cup in 2030 from 12 to 16 teams.