By Parth Dhall | Sep 23, 2025 | 10:47 PM
**ICC Suspends USA Cricket Amid Governance Overhaul: What You Need to Know**
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially suspended USA Cricket (USAC) in a decisive move aimed at revamping the leadership and governance of cricket in the United States. The decision was announced following a virtual meeting of the ICC Board held on Tuesday.
### Impact on USA’s Participation in Upcoming Tournaments
Importantly, this suspension will not affect the USA team’s participation in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka from February 2024. The USA will continue to compete as planned on the international stage.
### Governance Reforms and ICC’s Ultimatum
Prior to the suspension, the ICC had given USAC a strict three-month deadline to conduct “free and fair elections” and implement comprehensive governance reforms. Since July of the previous year, the ICC had kept USAC “on notice,” closely monitoring progress. The ICC Board reserved the right to take further action depending on how these reforms progressed, culminating in this suspension decision.
### Olympic Participation Remains Unaffected
According to ESPNcricinfo, this suspension will not impact cricket’s inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The ICC recently developed a detailed “roadmap” designed to help USAC achieve National Governing Body (NGB) status from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
This six-step plan—drawn up by the ICC’s Normalisation Committee—requires USAC to appoint three new independent directors to its Board as part of its restructuring efforts.
### What Happens Next? Future of Cricket Governance in the USA
Once the three new independent directors have been appointed, the USAC Board is expected to resign and call for fresh elections. At this point, USAC will formally apply for NGB status.
Additionally, a complete review and reform of the USA Cricket Constitution is planned, to be carried out in consultation with the Independent Directors and ICC stakeholders. However, at this stage, it remains unclear who will manage cricket affairs in the USA during the suspension period.
### Contract Dispute: USAC Terminates Deal with American Cricket Enterprise (ACE)
In a related development, USAC recently terminated its contract with American Cricket Enterprise (ACE), the commercial partner and owner of the Major League and Minor League Cricket franchises. This decision has sparked criticism from players, many of whom feel caught in the crossfire of the dispute.
Last week, ACE took legal action to challenge the termination, adding further complexities to the situation surrounding domestic cricket leagues in the US.
### Looking Ahead: A Historic 2024 for USA Cricket
Despite governance challenges, 2024 has been a landmark year for USA Cricket. In May, the USA team recorded their first-ever bilateral T20 International series win against a Full Member nation by defeating Bangladesh 2-1 in Houston.
Later, the USA co-hosted the ICC T20 World Cup along with the West Indies. In a historic highlight, USA defeated Pakistan in a thrilling Super Over at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Unfortunately, despite this momentous victory, subsequent defeats ended the USA’s campaign in the tournament.
Looking forward, USA will continue its cricketing journey, including competing in the 2026 T20 World Cup, unaffected by the current governance suspension.
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*Stay tuned for further updates on the evolving landscape of cricket governance and developments within USA Cricket.*
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/sports/usa-cricket-suspended-by-icc/story
