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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to freeze the funding given to Cricket Canada. The decision comes after it was reported that governance-related issues were plaguing the Canadian board.
Earlier this week, the ICC had informed Cricket Canada that its funding would be frozen for the next six months. All member countries receive funding from the ICC, but associate nations like Canada depend more on those funds than established full members like India, Australia, or England.
According to reports, the suspension is not slated to affect any day-to-day cricket activities in the country, including any high-performance programs.
Cricket Canada under ACU investigation
Before this funding freeze, the Canadian team and some of its players were already under investigation by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).
Canada's loss to New Zealand at the T20 World Cup earlier this year is a part of an ongoing ACU investigation. Another investigation is currently going on into former coach Khurram Chohan's allegations that senior board members forced him to pick certain players.
Former Canada coach Pubudu Daasaanayake had also made similar allegations in 2024. He is now the coach of the USA National Cricket team. Monty Desai is the new Head Coach of Canada.
The current allegations of governance failure stem from a recent documentary by "The Fifth Estate" - an investigative documentary TV programme. The same show had also leaked Chohan's calls in which he made the allegations.
The show reported that there were "breaches of ICC policies, including concerns over Cricket Canada's governance and lack of financial oversight."
"The Fifth Estate" is run by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Turmoil in Cricket Canada's leadership
In recent times, Cricket Canada's leadership has come under fire for haphazard appointments and removals of certain office-bearers.
Former CEO Salman Khan was removed about as fast as he was appointed. The ICC had questioned Cricket Canada about his appointment since the board had not disclosed Khan's previous criminal charges to the global governing body.
In April, Arvinder Khosa was appointed the interim President of the board. The ICC's funding decision came immediately after Cricket Canada's annual general meeting last weekend (May 9-10), in which the board announced reforms it said were part of its "ongoing governance transformation initiative". It also elected a new nine-person board of directors, with Khosa elected president, after his interim stint.
In a statement to "The Fifth Estate", the board's media manager, Jimmy Sharma, said: "The current Board has inherited these issues and is fully committed to resolving all governance, compliance, and financial control deficiencies."
ICC ACU head makes a statement
As reported by ESPNCricinfo, Andrew Ephgrave, Interim General Manager of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Integrity unit, issued a statement regarding the allegations and ICC's response to them.
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