ICC Champions Trophy 2025: International Cricket Council Announces Major Changes

The International Cricket Council has recommended some major changes which are expected to take place soon. These changes will be related to the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan.

Some reports have said that the ICC is planning to have at least 3 Test matches for every series in the World Test Championship cycle. Jay Shah will be taking up the role of the ICC Chairman from December 1, as he went unopposed for the seat. Just before Shah takes up the seat, the ICC committee is working to bring up some improvements to Test cricket and has given three suggestions.

Sourav Ganguly has also been a part of the International Cricket Council’s committee. For this time, the council will have members which includes Mahela Jayawardene, Shaun Pollock, Daniel Vettori, Roger Harper, VVS Laxman, and Jay Shah, who will be taking up as the chairman.

Suggestions for Upcoming Tournaments

There have been three suggestions put forward for the Test and ODI format for its Improvement. One was to increase the number of matches in a test series to three matches at a minimum. For this, an ICC committee member said,

Some countries like South Africa, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka mostly play just two-Test series. Only India, England, and Australia play long Test series. That doesn’t help in promoting Test cricket and the point distribution becomes very unfair. The recommendations are targeted at wiping out such disparities.

Along with that, it was also recommended to play more Pink ball test matches, as they have seen more turnout by the fans than usual. There is another change to the ODI format, which says that two new balls will be allowed for the first 25 overs of the game, after which only one ball can be issued. This will also reduce the advantage of batsmen towards the death overs.