ICC propose multiple limited overs ‘Champions Cups’ as part of 2023-2031 cycle: Report

The International Cricket Council has proposed a T20 Champions Cup – which will have the world’s top ten teams playing a total of 48 matches between them – among the tournaments for the 2023-2031 cycle, according to a report by espncricinfo.com.

The ICC has also proposed a 50-over Champions Cup, which will be similar to the Champions Trophy and will have six teams playing a total of 16 games between them. The T20 Champions Cup, though, will be a massive tournament with the same number of games as the 2019 World Cup in England.

The ICC had first tabled this proposal in October last year and is currently locked in a struggle with its rich member nations to find space for all the tournaments in the given period.

Although this proposal has only been provisionally approved as of now, the ICC has gone ahead and set March 15 as the deadline for member countries to bid for the hosting rights of the global events.

The ICC has also proposed a women’s T20 and ODI Champions Cup, but the events will be on a smaller scale with six teams competing against one another over 16 matches.

Here are the events proposed by the ICC for the 2023-31 cycle:

According to the report, the ICC has argued that they need to conduct at least one major event each year to generate enough revenue to help develop the game’s smaller countries. However, major cricketing boards like the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB believe that these many ICC tournaments will not leave enough space for them to have bilateral series, which is a big source revenue generation for them.