ICC shelving new tournament plans until at least 2031, report says

The International Cricket Council will not add a World Club Championship or new international tournaments involving multiple teams before 2031, according to reporting by The Guardian. England, Australia and India have opposed expanding the calendar, leaving the proposed competitions outside the next scheduling cycle while the governing body considers its longer-term commercial plans.

The newspaper reported that a cricket operations workshop in Dubai last week ended without proposals for additional events, following months of informal talks with member boards. The Future Tours Programme for 2027-31 is consequently expected to retain the current competition structure. That programme has not yet been finalised: the next quarterly ICC meeting, in Bali in November, remains the point at which the schedule is due to be settled.

Among the concepts discussed were a global club championship and international T20 competitions featuring four teams in extra calendar windows. According to The Guardian, the three leading boards maintain that room could be found only by removing existing ICC competitions, such as World Cups or the Champions Trophy. Removing those tournaments has not been discussed. The report also identified interest in additional events among smaller cricketing nations.

A separate potential change is still under consideration for Test cricket. The World Test Championship could expand to 12 teams from 2027 through the inclusion of Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe. The Guardian reported that the ICC had not circulated final plans to members, so that expansion should not be treated as an agreed change to the competition.

The tournament discussions also sit alongside a strategic review by McKinsey & Company, whose full findings are due to go before ICC members in Bali. The Guardian linked that review to concerns about falling media-rights income, particularly in India. Disney Star and Viacom 18 have merged to form JioStar, reducing competition in a market central to the ICC's broadcast business.

Meanwhile, England, Australia and India have already agreed their schedules against one another through 2031, the report said. England are set to visit India for five Tests in early 2028 and host them in 2029. Those bilateral commitments are already in place even as the broader international programme awaits completion. The ICC declined to comment to The Guardian.