Pink balls can now be used in Test cricket even in daylight when the light is poor, provided both teams agree. The ICC approved the decision, recommended by its Chief Executives’ Committee, at a board meeting held in Ahmedabad, India.
To prevent time being lost to poor light in Tests, the ICC has also decided to conduct research. The ICC and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) will jointly fund work on floodlights, light-measurement systems, sensors and other modern lighting technology.
Under the new decisions, head coaches will be allowed to speak directly with players during drinks breaks. The innings break in T20 matches has been cut to 15 minutes. The latest MCC rulings — such as completing the day’s final over rather than stopping play when a wicket falls, and the “bunny hop” catch — will also be implemented.
Several important decisions on women’s cricket also came out of the meeting. The 2027 Women’s Champions Trophy has been brought forward from June–July to February 14–28 of that year.
The 2028 Women’s World Cup will be expanded from 10 teams to 12. The top eight ranked teams and the host nation will qualify directly; if the host has already qualified, the next-highest ranked teams will take the berths. The remaining two teams will come through a 10-team qualifying round.
The ICC has formally announced it will send representatives to the cricket board elections in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — Dr Mohammad Moosajee of Cricket South Africa and Tebanga Mukulani of Zimbabwe.
They will speak with stakeholders about the Bangladesh Cricket Board election and the current situation. ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja and Devajit Saikia will travel to observe the situation in Sri Lanka.
The ICC also finalised the format of the global qualifiers for the T20 World Cup. It expressed concern over the growing spread of franchise cricket, and decided at the Ahmedabad meeting to form a committee to assess how franchise cricket can be better coordinated with the international calendar within the current structure.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report