Cricket West Indies getting significant US$12.82 million loan from ICC

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Cricket West Indies (CWI) will receive a significant loan of US$12.82 million from the ICC, the global governing body for cricket.

It is part of a set of governance, membership and member support changes announced by the ICC following its annual meetings in Edinburgh, which also marked the revamping of the men’s ODI & T20 World Cup formats. In addition, several decisions pertaining to member bodies were taken, including financial aid to West Indies cricket.

As reported by Cricbuzz, Mauritius has been named the ICC’s 111th member, adding to its 12 Full Members and 98 other Associate members. Further, ICC announced that Reinstatement Conditions for Cricket Canada have been approved, which need to be met before the existing suspension on the body can be lifted.

The ICC also received updates from Sri Lanka Cricket on a revised constitution. For now, Sri Lanka Cricket will not be able to have a representative at the ICC board meetings until elections are held. 

Meanwhile, France Cricket has been placed on notice for breaching the ICC membership criteria. 

Details on Windies cricket support

As for the US$12.82 million support for CWI, the ICC has acknowledged that the CWI board has been facing financial hurdles for several years and has been seeking ICC support. This sentiment voiced by several ex-cricketers over time.

As per their audited financial statements for the year ending September 30, 2025, CWI recorded a net loss of US$28 million, following a net profit of US$24 million the previous year. With a forecast of US$26 million loss in the 2026 cycle, CWI’s indicated loan financing from the ICC, along with commercial banking credit facilities, is among the ways being explored to close the funding gap. 

This has now materialised. Back in 2012, the then-West Indies Cricket Board received assistance funding alongside Zimbabwe from the ICC. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, CWI received a US$3 million loan from the ECB, which was duly paid back.

ICC establishes two new subcommittees

At the annual meeting, the ICC board has established two new subcommittees: the Governance Review Committee and the Franchise League Committee. The first Governance Review Committee comprises of Devajit Saikia (BCCI), Dr Mohammed Moosajee (Cricket South Africa) and Dr Ros Rivaz (ICC Independent Director).

The second committee comprises of Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh Cricket Board – Chair), Dr Rudie van Vuuren (Cricket Namibia), Devajit Saikia (BCCI), Richard Gould (England and Wales Cricket Board) and Todd Greenberg (Cricket Australia).