Dubai, Sep 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended the membership status of USA Cricket with immediate effect on Tuesday due to governance issues, following a thorough review of affairs and extensive engagement with key stakeholders over the past year.

USA Cricket was placed 'on notice' during the 2024 ICC Annual General Meeting for being non-compliant with ICC Membership criteria and given 12 months to put things in order. However, they failed to remedy the situation, and the ICC took the harsh decision to suspend their membership.

The decision, taken by the ICC Board during its meeting a few days back, was based on USA Cricket’s repeated and continued breaches of its obligations as an ICC Member under the ICC’s Constitution, the ICC said in a release on Tuesday night.

"These include, but are not limited to, the failure to implement a functional governance structure, lack of progress toward achieving National Governing Body status with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), and significant actions that have caused reputational damage to cricket in the United States and around the world," the ICC said in its release.

With cricket set to return to the Olympics in the T20 format for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, which falls under USA Cricket's jurisdiction, the ICC has decided to safeguard the interests of the games and the players by retaining their right to participate in LA 2028.

Terming the suspension as an unfortunate but necessary step to protect the long-term interests of the game, the ICC Board has decided that the USA’s national teams will retain their right to participate in ICC events, including preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28)".

The management and administration of the USA national teams will temporarily be overseen by the ICC and/or its designated representatives to ensure continued support for the players and maintain momentum towards Olympic inclusion.

"This approach reflects the ICC’s firm commitment to upholding the best interests of cricketers in the USA and the sustenance of a High-performance & Player development program which will seek to elevate the stature and capabilities of players representing USA," the ICC said in the release.

(IANS)

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