Sourav Ganguly named as Chairman of the Men's Cricket Committee by ICC

After Anil Kumble stood down after serving a maximum of three three-year terms, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has appointed BCCI President Sourav Ganguly to the position of Chair of the ICC Men's Cricket Committee.

ICC Chair Greg Barclay in an official release said: "I am delighted to welcome Sourav to the position of Chair of the ICC Men's Cricket Committee. His experience as one of the world's best players and latterly as an administrator will help us shape our cricketing decisions moving forward. I would also like to thank Anil for his outstanding leadership over the last nine years which has included improving the international game through more regular and consistent application of DRS and a robust process for addressing suspect bowling actions."

In light of recent governmental developments in Afghanistan, the ICC board has also created a Working Group to assess the status of the Afghanistan Cricket Board and cricket in the nation.

Imran Khwaja (Chair), Ross McCollum, Lawson Naidoo, and Ramiz Raja make up the committee, which will report to the Board in the following months.

Greg Barclay said: "The ICC Board is committed to continuing to support Afghanistan Cricket to develop both men's and women's cricket moving forward. We believe the most effective way for this to happen will be to support our Member in its efforts to achieve this through its relationship with the new government."

"Cricket is fortunate to be in the position to influence positive change in Afghanistan with the national men's team a source of great pride and unity in a country with a young population that has experienced more upheaval and change than most. We should protect that status and continue to try to influence change through the ACB but will continue to closely monitor the situation and take any decisions accordingly," it added.

The ICC Board also endorsed the continuation of the ICC World Test Championship in its current format, which consists of a nine-team league played over two years with a final between the top two teams at the end.

In addition, following the expansion of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup to a 14-team event in the next cycle 2027, the Board accepted a proposal from the Chief Executives' Committee that the basic avenue for qualification for the event be based on rankings at a pre-determined cut-off date, with the top 10 teams on the Men's ODI Rankings qualifying automatically and the rest being determined through a global qualifier.