ICC proposes chair term reforms, greenlights women's cricket expansion
New term limits for ICC Chair and Independent Director could see Jay Shah lead the global cricket body for six years, while women's cricket gets a boost with new T20 competitions.
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The ICC Board has recommended a revision to the terms for its Chair and independent Director, suggesting a switch from the current three terms of two years to two terms of three years, as per reports.
If approved by the members, this would mean that BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, who is set to take over as ICC Chair on December 1, 2024, will lead the cricket body for a three-year term, with the possibility of a second three-year stint.
This change would align with Shah's tenure with his cooling-off period from the BCCI, which begins in September 2025. Under Indian cricket's rules, an individual can serve a total of 18 years across the state unit and BCCI, with a mandatory three-year break after six consecutive years.
In other developments, the ICC approved a series of women's Associate Member T20 competitions to enhance the competitiveness of small cricketing nations.
These tournaments will be part of the women's cricket expansion plan for 2028-2031 and include two annual T20 events starting from 2025 to 2028, providing a pathway for teams to qualify for the 16-team ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2030.
The ICC also greenlit the 2025-2029 Women's Futures Tour Programme (FTP) and calendar, along with updates to the Women's rankings system.
Starting from May 2025, teams must play a minimum of eight matches for ranking eligibility, an increase from the previous six, reflecting the rise in international fixtures.
Lastly, a mechanism for granting ODI status to five Associate Member women's teams for the 2025-2029 cycle was confirmed, with selections based on team performance in the 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the ICC T20I rankings.
