International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Cricket Canada with immediate effect after identifying serious breaches of its membership obligations following Board meetings held in Ahmedabad.
The decision was among several governance-related measures approved by the ICC Board as part of its efforts to strengthen cricket administration, improve competition structures, and support the long-term development of the game globally.
Despite the suspension, the ICC confirmed that Canada's national teams will continue to participate in international events while steps are taken to address the governance concerns.
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ICC suspends Cricket Canada but protects national teams
The suspension follows concerns raised by the ICC regarding Cricket Canada's compliance with membership requirements and governance standards.
While the governing body has taken disciplinary action against Cricket Canada, it emphasized that players should not suffer because of administrative shortcomings.
As a result, Canada's men's and women's national representative teams will remain eligible to compete in ICC tournaments during the suspension period.
To ensure cricket operations continue uninterrupted, Cricket Canada will retain access to ICC funding through a controlled mechanism overseen directly by ICC management. The funding will be limited to approved national team programmes and cricket-related activities.
The ICC also confirmed that Cricket Canada will receive a set of conditions that must be satisfied before membership can be fully reinstated.
Progress on those requirements will be monitored by the ICC Normalisation Committee alongside ICC management, with reinstatement dependent on the Board's assessment that all governance concerns have been addressed.
ICC Board approves wider changes across world cricket
Alongside the Cricket Canada suspension, the ICC Board approved a number of recommendations from the Chief Executives Committee.
Among the major decisions was the approval of a pink-ball trial in Test cricket, subject to agreement between both participating teams, in order to reduce disruptions caused by poor light.
The ICC will also collaborate with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on research into advanced lighting technology for venues and match officials. Additionally, match officials will now have access to Hawk-Eye data when assessing suspected illegal bowling actions.
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Several playing-condition amendments were also approved, including mandatory 15-minute innings breaks in T20 Internationals, allowing head coaches to communicate with players during scheduled drinks intervals, and the permanent adoption of the leg-side wides trial.
The Board also discussed governance matters involving cricket administration in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while continuing its broader push to improve transparency and accountability across member nations.