ICC suspends Cricket Canada, approves pink-ball trial at board meeting

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Cricket Canada with immediate effect following what it described as "serious breaches" of its membership obligations. This was one of several significant decisions taken during the ICC Board meetings in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

While Cricket Canada's membership has been suspended, the ICC said Canadian national teams would continue to participate in ICC events and access funding through a controlled mechanism overseen by the governing body. The ICC added that Cricket Canada would be provided with reinstatement conditions aimed at addressing governance and administrative shortcomings, with progress monitored by the ICC's Normalisation Committee.

The Board also approved a recommendation to trial the use of a pink ball in conventional Test matches, subject to agreement from both participating teams, when poor light is anticipated. The proposal allows teams to switch from the traditional red ball to a pink ball during a Test to reduce time lost to bad light.

Among other key outcomes, the Board approved a recommendation to establish a Global Qualifier for ICC Men's T20 World Cups. The management has been tasked with finalising the competition structure and qualification pathway for a 16-team qualifier. The move revives a global qualification pathway for Associate nations after the ICC identified growing interest in matches involving non-Full Member teams.

In another significant playing-condition change, the ICC permanently adopted the leg-side wides trial, which uses a batter's position at delivery as the point of reference, and approved the use of Hawk-Eye data by match officials for reports of suspected illegal bowling actions. Head coaches will also be permitted to communicate with players during scheduled drinks breaks, while T20 Internationals will now feature mandatory 15-minute intervals.

The Board endorsed changes to women's cricket pathways. The ICC Women's Champions Trophy 2027 has been moved to February 14-28, 2027, while a 10-team Women's Emerging Nations Trophy will be launched in 2026 featuring five Full Members and five Associate nations. For the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2028, the Board approved a qualification pathway featuring a 10-team Global Qualifier feeding into the 12-team tournament, hosted by Pakistan with India's matches at a neutral venue.

The ICC also addressed governance matters in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Representatives will visit Bangladesh to engage with stakeholders regarding developments. In Sri Lanka, ICC Deputy Chair Imran Khwaja and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia have already met stakeholders.

The Board expressed concern over the growing footprint of franchise cricket worldwide and resolved to establish a committee to examine how franchise leagues can be better harmonised with the international calendar.

"Our discussions in Ahmedabad have reinforced the ICC's commitment to governance, administration and the growth of cricket globally," ICC chairman Jay Shah said. "From women's cricket and emerging nations to the management of franchise competitions, today's decisions aim to ensure that cricket remains fair, competitive, and exciting for fans worldwide."