Two serving USA Cricket (USAC) directors and an ousted colleague have asked the ICC to step in, remove chair Venu Pisike’s faction and launch a forensic audit into what they call the body’s “collapse”.
Arjun Rao Gona and Kuljit Singh Nijjar – both elected directors – joined former independent director Patricia Whittaker in a joint statement on Tuesday. “We call for immediate and decisive intervention not to punish, but to rebuild what has been broken,” they wrote. “This is no longer a crisis of management; it is a test of integrity and courage.”
Their request follows the ICC Board’s 23 September decision to suspend USAC for “repeated and continued breaches of its obligation” as an Associate member. Last week, a USAC media release said the board could not “comprehend” the suspension.
Matters grew messier on 1 October. Pisike chaired a meeting that voted 5-4 to place USAC into bankruptcy as part of a financial restructure. Pisike, Srini Salver, David Haubert, Pintoo Shah and Anj Balusu backed the move. Gona, Nijjar, Nadia Gruny and Atul Rai walked out in protest.
Rai later issued his own note to members, claiming Friday’s public statement “was not authorised by the Board” and labelling it “clearly an abuse of power and authority.”
The ICC had already formed a Normalisation Committee with a six-step plan. The first job is for three new independent directors to replace the existing board, trigger fresh elections and rewrite the constitution – changes the ICC believes are essential if the sport is to gain National Governing Body (NGB) status from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee before the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Gona, Nijjar and Whittaker want that committee to assume control straight away and “go beyond administrative control and conduct a full, independent investigation into the root causes of USA Cricket’s collapse, identifying every act of constitutional breach, misuse of authority, and conflict of interest.” They have floated the idea of five new independents once the constitution is tidied up.
They also want a forensic audit covering “all financial transactions, contracts, appointments, and legal decisions taken under the current regime, and publish the findings to the public to restore trust, confidence and transparency.”
Why does any of this matter? The United States is due to co-host next year’s men’s T20 World Cup with the West Indies and has ambitions for Olympic participation in 2028. A protracted governance dispute, or worse a financial melt-down, risks undermining both events.
Former USA captain Saurabh Netravalkar, speaking informally last week, summed up player concerns: “We just want clarity. Our focus should be on cricket, not bank statements.” Several state associations share that frustration, noting delayed match fees from the recent domestic season.
Money is a recurring theme. When USAC was formed in 2019 it inherited debts from the now-defunct USACA but projected buoyant commercial income around the World Cup. Covid-19 hit those plans hard, leaving what one official calls “a cashflow hole you could drive a bus through”. Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy would in theory protect USAC from creditors while allowing it to reorganise, yet critics argue it signals failure and will scare off sponsors.
The ICC, which has advanced funds in the past, is watching closely. A senior ICC administrator told this writer the world body prefers “a cooperative solution”, but added that removing non-compliant directors was “very much on the table” if progress stalls.
For the moment, American cricket sits in limbo: suspended internationally, internally split and potentially insolvent. The next few weeks will shape whether the sport emerges with a cleaner structure – or sinks deeper into acrimony.
Players, fans and volunteers deserve better. But as one grassroots coach in Houston said, only half-joking, “We’ll still turn up with bat and ball on Saturday. The politics can wait – the game can’t.”
