ICC set to revive Global Qualifier for Associate teams

The ICC is contemplating reinstating the global qualification process for Associate members, a key decision taken by ICC members who met in Ahmedabad on Saturday (May 30). The global qualifiers would be for future men's T20 World Cups.

The ICC Board is expected to reconvene on Sunday morning, ahead of the IPL final, and is expected to approve the proposal. The global qualifiers for Associate members are expected to restart.

A key factor behind the ICC's push is the growing audience interest in Associate cricket. While matches involving Associate nations once attracted viewership figures eight times lower than those featuring Full Members, recent data indicates the gap has shrunk to about 1.5 times, excluding India matches.

The centralised qualifying tournament existed earlier but was discontinued after the 2019 edition in the UAE. The Netherlands won that event, which identified the Associate teams for the 2020 T20 World Cup. The tournament was staged in 2021 due to the pandemic.

Since 2019, Associate teams have been identified through five regional and sub-regional qualification pathways. For the most recent T20 World Cup, eight teams qualified through five regional tournaments. The Americas region had one berth, with Canada qualifying. Europe and Africa had two berths each, with Netherlands, Italy, Zimbabwe and Namibia progressing respectively. Three places were available across the combined Asia and East Asia-Pacific pathway, from which Nepal, UAE and Oman qualified.

Where and when the ICC will stage the Global Qualifier will become clear once approvals are secured. Some regional qualification events for the 2028 T20 World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, have already commenced.

Ashraf, Tamim to skip meetings

Mirwais Ashraf of Afghanistan and Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh will not attend the meetings for different reasons. Richard Thompson of the ECB, initially expected to join online, has arrived in Ahmedabad. There is no representative from the Pakistan Cricket Board, and chairman Mohsin Naqvi is likely to participate in Sunday's meeting virtually.

Tamim, who heads the interim committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, chose not to travel to India. He is contesting for the BCB top post in elections on June 7. BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury arrived in Ahmedabad late on Saturday evening.