Explained: What to expect from the first ICC Annual Conference under Jay Shah

The first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) under new chairman Jay Shah is set to take place in Singapore from 17 July. The four-day meeting is going to be an important one where several key topics will be discussed. This will also be the first ICC meeting since the appointment of new CEO Sanjog Gupta.

Ahead of the annual conference, the main question on everyone’s mind is the topics that are going to come up at the meeting. According to PTI, discussions will be around the two-tier Test system, expansion of the T20 World Cup, the addition of new ICC members, etc.

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What to expect?

One of the main talking points will be the idea of dividing Test cricket into two tiers. This would mean promotion and relegation, where weaker teams could drop to a lower level, and stronger teams like India, England, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand could move up into one group.

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However, this won’t affect the current World Test Championship (2025-27). If the plan is discussed and accepted, it will only come into effect after the 2027 cycle. According to the report, Australia and England are strongly in favour of this model.

On the T20 front, the ICC may think about adding more teams to the World Cup. Right now, 20 teams play in the tournament, but it could increase to 24 after the 2026 edition. Meanwhile, cricket’s return to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is also going to be a hot topic as the qualification format is yet to be finalised.

There will also be discussions about the controversy around last year’s T20 World Cup, which faced charges of overspending. Many believe the financial mismanagement during the tournament in the USA and West Indies in 2024 led to former ICC CEO Geoff Allardice resigning in January. Sanjog Gupta is expected to present the final update on this issue.

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Meanwhile, the ICC is also likely to approve Zambia’s return as an Associate Member after its suspension in 2019. East Timor might also join as a new member for the first time. The election of Associate Members to the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) is also expected to be held in Singapore.

Jay Shah was elected the ICC Chair in December last year. This is the first annual meeting under his leadership. The last time the ICC AGM was held, Shah was the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and represented the board in Colombo, Sri Lanka.