USA Cricket (USAC) says the ICC’s decision to suspend it is “one of the most difficult moments” in the board’s short history, and insists it will press on with elections within the timeframe already agreed with the global body.
The statement, released on Friday, follows USAC’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on 1 October. The board calls the suspension “aggressive” but argues the financial restructuring is essential to secure its future.
Key facts first
• ICC suspended USAC on 23 September for failing to stage overdue elections and to enact governance reforms.
• USAC filed for bankruptcy eight days later, surprising many inside the ICC.
• The board has also cancelled its long-term commercial deal with American Cricket Enterprise (ACE), owners of Major League Cricket, triggering a fresh stand-off.
Why did USAC act?
USAC describes the bankruptcy and the ACE termination as moves designed “to protect integrity and independence rather than to harm it”. Chair Venu Pisike told reporters the ACE agreement was “one-sided” and risked leaving the national governing body without proper control of its own commercial rights.
“We chose principle over convenience. Our decisions were driven by the need to safeguard the game’s future, not to surrender its control,” Pisike said.
ICC response
In the suspension letter, ICC chair Jay Shah warned USAC “to not take any steps to undermine the ICC or its Normalisation Committee in all aspects of the ICC’s work related to the USA, including the LA28 Olympic Games”. The ICC had previously left USAC “on notice”, asking it to complete elections within three months.
Players caught in the middle
Several national-squad members spoken to by NewsUSA Cricket expressed frustration but remained hopeful the situation would stabilise. One senior player, requesting anonymity, said the priority was “just getting back on the park without worrying who’s signing the cheques”.
Commercial friction
The original 50-year ACE partnership, signed in 2019, guaranteed US$1.2 million a year for player contracts and support staff salaries. USAC now argues those rights are worth closer to US$5 million annually. Board officials claim years of “strain and commercial overreach” have left cricket’s governing structure in the United States fragile.
In its release, USAC says it has “operated under immense pressure” from ACE, with no “balanced, long-form” agreement ever finalised. The bankruptcy filing, it contends, gives the organisation breathing space to renegotiate.
What happens next?
A court will supervise the restructuring, while USAC prepares a timeline for elections—expected before year-end—and works with the ICC’s Normalisation Committee.
Former USA captain Saurabh Netravalkar offered a measured take: “Administration issues have dogged cricket here for decades. The hope is the sport finally finds a sustainable model.”
Analyst view
From a governance standpoint, suspension is the ICC’s bluntest tool. It removes voting rights and limits funding but stops short of expulsion. Similar measures were used with Sri Lanka in 2023 and Zimbabwe in 2019; both regained status after satisfying reform demands. The USA path could be comparable—if the board meets the election deadline and proves financial viability.
For now, uncertainty reigns. Yet with the men’s T20 World Cup coming to US soil in 2026 and the sport targeting an Olympic return at LA 28, neither USAC nor the ICC can afford a prolonged impasse.
