Just a couple of days after the conclusion of the ICC World T20 2021 jointly conducted in the UAE and Oman where the Australian cricket team lifted their maiden T20 World Cup title defeating New Zealand in the finals, the world cricket’s governing body, International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed the 14 host countries of the men’s white-ball events from 2024-2031, promising a never-seen-before enthralling decade of limited-overs cricketing action ahead in the future.
While 11 Full Members and 3 Associate Members have been selected to host two ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups, four ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, and two ICC Men’s Champions Trophy events, the total eight marquee ICC tournaments will be hosted in 14 different nations with the illustrious Champions Trophy staging a comeback in international cricket.
The announcement comes in the wake of the recently concluded World T20 mega event which was won by Australia for the first time in the history of the shortest format. Notably, the United States of America (USA) and Namibia will host an ICC World Cup event for the first time, as per the official ICC media release. Meanwhile, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Zimbabwe all of whom have previously staged major events, will be doing so again over the next decade.
It is understood that the hosts were selected via a competitive bidding process overseen by a Board sub-committee chaired by Martin Snedden along with Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Skerritt.
The ICC Board accepted the recommendations of the committee who conducted a thorough review of each bid along with ICC management. Additionally, a similar process to identify the hosts for ICC Women’s and U19s events for the next cycle will be undertaken early next year.
On the occasion of an announcement of such a high magnitude being made, the ICC chairman Greg Barclay said, “We are delighted to have concluded this competitive bidding process for the first time for ICC events. To have 14 Members hosting 8 events is a reflection of the truly global nature of our sport and I’d like to thank every Member that submitted a bid and offer our congratulations to the successful bidders.
“It is fantastic to be returning to so many previous hosts, but what is really exciting about this process is the countries who will stage ICC events for the first time including the USA which is a strategic growth market for us. This gives us the opportunity to deepen our connection with fans in traditional cricket nations and also reach new fans around the world.”
For the unversed, the awarding of the events to preferred hosts is subject to the completion of the host agreements and the ICC will now work closely with all its Members to finalize arrangements. A set of 17 Members submitted a total of 28 proposals to host the eight ICC Men’s white-ball cricket events.
