Tamim appointed chair of 'ICC Franchise Cricket Sub-Committee'
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Tamim Iqbal has been appointed chair of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) newly formed Franchise Cricket Sub-Committee after being formally recognised as the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) official representative at the global governing body.
The recognition confirms Tamim's status as Bangladesh's legitimate representative at the ICC in his capacity as BCB president, effectively ending uncertainty over the issue and dismissing previous objections.
Following the formation of a BNP-led government through national elections, the National Sports Council dissolved the BCB board that had been constituted during the tenure of the interim government, alleging unlawful government interference. An ad hoc committee headed by Tamim was subsequently formed, with the responsibility of running the board later handed over to a newly elected committee within three months. Tamim retained the BCB presidency after being elected by the new board.
To assess whether the administrative transition at the BCB complied with ICC regulations, the governing body sent two observers—Dr Mohammad Mosazee and Tavengwa Mukuhlani—to Bangladesh in June. During their visit, they also met former BCB directors.
The legitimacy of the BCB election was among the issues discussed at the ICC Annual General Meeting in Edinburgh. Following the meeting, the ICC announced that it had formally recognised the elected BCB president as Bangladesh's Full Member Director, thereby validating both the election and the board formed through that process.
In a comparable case, the ICC decided that Sri Lanka Cricket's representative would remain excluded from ICC Board meetings until a newly elected committee assumes office, after the country's cricket board was dissolved by the government.
The ICC AGM also approved Mauritius as its 111th member.
In addition to recognising Tamim as Bangladesh's official representative, the ICC appointed him to lead its newly established Franchise Cricket Sub-Committee.
The ICC formed two new specialist sub-committees during the AGM: the Governance Review Committee and the Franchise Cricket Committee.
As chair of the Franchise Cricket Committee, Tamim will work alongside Dr Rudy van Vuuren (Cricket Namibia), Devajit Saikia (BCCI), Richard Gould (ECB) and Todd Greenberg (Cricket Australia).
ICC Approves New Format for 2027 ODI World Cup
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved a new competition format for the 2027 ICC Men's ODI World Cup at its Annual General Meeting, replacing the previously planned structure for the 14-team tournament.
Under the original format, the 14 participating teams were to be divided into two groups of seven, with each group playing a single round-robin league. The top three teams from each group would then advance to a Super Six stage.
The revised format introduces an opening "Super Series" involving the three lowest-ranked teams in the tournament—ranked 12th, 13th and 14th. The winner of that stage will qualify for the second round.
The remaining 12 teams will then be split into two groups of six. Each group will play a single round-robin, with every team facing the other five once.
The top three teams from each group, along with the best fourth-placed team across the two groups, will progress to a new "Super Seven" stage. In that round, all seven teams will play each other once in a round-robin format.
The top four teams from the Super Seven standings will advance to the semi-finals, where the first-placed team will face the fourth-placed side and the second-placed team will meet the third-placed team.
The previous format featured 51 matches before the semi-finals, while the revised structure increases that number to 54.
According to the ICC, the new system is designed to reduce the number of one-sided or dead-rubber matches while maintaining competitive intensity throughout the tournament.
"The format has been designed to enhance competitiveness across the entire event. Matches in both Round 1 and Round 2 will carry greater significance, before the seven qualifying teams compete in a highly competitive Super Seven round-robin stage for places in the semi-finals," the ICC said in a statement.
The governing body said the final tournament structure and match schedule will be confirmed at its September meeting, when the Future Tours Programme (FTP) will also be finalised.
