The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended USA Cricket (USAC) with immediate effect, citing repeated governance failures and breaches of membership obligations. The decision, announced after the ICC Board’s virtual meeting on Tuesday, marks a major reset for cricket administration in the United States.
Despite the suspension, the USA national team will still compete in the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka as well as prepare for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Why Did ICC Suspend USA Cricket?
The ICC had earlier given USAC a three-month deadline during its July annual meeting to conduct “free and fair elections” and implement wide-ranging reforms. However, USAC failed to meet the required standards.
An ICC press release stated:
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑼𝑺𝑨 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝑰𝑪𝑪 𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓… 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆.”
The ICC further highlighted that USAC’s inability to achieve National Governing Body (NGB) status with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) played a key role in the suspension.
Impact on Cricket in USA
While the suspension affects administrative control, the ICC confirmed that it will temporarily manage the USA national teams to ensure athletes are not harmed.
Calling the move “unfortunate but necessary,” the ICC added:
“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.”
The roadmap prepared by ICC’s Normalisation Committee, led by chairman Jay Shah, had outlined six steps for governance reforms. These included bringing in independent directors, holding fresh elections, and restructuring the USAC Constitution. Failure to comply with these steps ultimately triggered the suspension.
The Way Forward
For USA Cricket to regain its membership, it must follow a strict procedure involving “demonstrable and specific changes” in governance, operations, and organizational structure. The Normalisation Committee will oversee this transition and support the process.
The ICC reiterated its long-term vision:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝑪𝑪 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆.”
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