Cricket’s Chief Executives’ Committee Election Kick-Starts Defining AGM Meeting

Mubashshir Usmani, a rising administrator ushering the UAE’s contentious T20 league, retained his position on the Chief Executives’ Committee after Monday’s election to kick-start the governing body’s AGM in Durban, South Africa.

Usmani, the Emirates Cricket Board boss, received the joint most votes – according to sources – among the nine candidates with 26 along with Rashpal Bajwa (Canada) who was also re-elected.

Denmark’s Umair Butt won a spot on the influential CEC with 16 votes to edge incumbent Sumod Damodor and Richard Done (PNG) who each had 15 votes.

Done was a high-profile candidate as a former ICC high performance manager and who had more recently been in operations for USA Cricket.

Damodar, a veteran of Associate cricket, had been the only candidate to publicly criticize the proposed revenue distribution model for the ICC’s $3 billion media rights deal for 2024-27, labelling the share set for cash-stricken smaller countries as “ridiculous”.

Debate over the contentious revenue distribution model is set to ensue during the ICC’s meetings this week but, as I reported previously, is unlikely to be tweaked as has been proposed.

India’s affluent governing body is set to receive $230 million a year – or 38.5 per cent in an increase from their 22 per cent share currently – of net surplus earnings from the media rights deal for 2024-27.

Associate Members – 96 nations deemed under the 12 top tiered Full Members who are granted more funding and power – are set to receive around 11 per cent, which is about the same percentage as in the current model.

But with the media rights deal substantially bigger than the $2 billion deal for 2015-23, all countries will receive significantly more money per annum which ultimately has seemed to appease many administrators.

The only real uncertainty is whether the distribution model will be approved by the board this week or in the next quarterly meetings later in the year.

Another issue that it is set to be debated is a cap on foreign players in T20 leagues, as fears grow on the explosion of franchise leagues such as the ILT20 in the UAE and America’s Major League Cricket, which is just days from launching.

Usmani, the head of Emirates Cricket which sanctioned the privately owned ILT20, has been on a working group addressing the issue amid angst from Full Members on a potential talent drain as players are lured to new well-heeled leagues.

The ILT20 being mostly filled with overseas players is a point of difference to established T20 competitions from Full Member nations.

Usmani has been the voice for the Associates on the working group and his standing is clear after the CEC election.

The CEC is supposed to promote and develop cricket worldwide, while governing and regulating the sport at the international level. It is highly coveted for Associate chiefs and seen as a stepping stone to get onto the ICC board – where the real power lies in global cricket.

Usmani, Bajwa and Butt will also be part of the important Development Committee, which looks into governing and regulating cricket primarily at the Associate level.

Newly-elected CEC Associate representative members receive two-year terms.