LONDON: It was double bonanza for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as it would host the World Twenty20 for the first time in 2016 and its fourth 50-over World Cup in 2023.
The BCCI was awarded the two events during the International Cricket Council (ICC) Annual Conference that ended on Saturday. India was represented by interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, also a former ICC president.
During the conference, the ICC finalised its global events from 2015 to 2023 and decided that full members have to play a minimum of 16 Tests over a four-year period to retain their Test status.
The ICC also confirmed that the inaugural ICC World Test Championship will be staged in 2017 and will be hosted by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) June-July. The second edition, slated for 2021, will be held in in India in February-March.
The ECB will also host the 2019 World Cup and Cricket Australia (CA) got the hosting rights of the 2020 World Twenty20.
The ICC Board supported the strategy of ensuring an optimum balance between the three formats of the game – especially Test cricket.
ICC’s Chief Executive David Richardson also put the speculations to rest about ICC Champions Trophy being continued.
“The ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales was highly acclaimed and appreciated by all. However, the principle of one pinnacle global event for each of the three formats over a four-year cycle is a good one and, as such, the ICC Board has agreed to replace the Champions Trophy with the ICC World Test Championship,” Richardson said.
To ensure that all ODIs played over the four-year cycle between ICC Cricket World Cups count towards a team’s ranking, the ICC Board agreed to change the ODI rankings period from three years to four years.
For the sake of consistency, the ICC Board also agreed to change the calculation of the T20 rankings to cover the same period.
Meanwhile, the ICC also reviewed an inspection report by the ICC Venue Consultant on the venues for the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 and expressed its concern regarding the progress of construction and improvements to playing facilities in Cox’s Bazar and Sylhet.
The Board noted that a further inspection and report is scheduled for August after which a final decision will be taken on the venues for the event.
Afghanistan was confirmed as the 37th Associate Member of the ICC while Romania was accepted as an Affiliate Member. (Agencies)
