ICC BOARD MEET PCB chief Raja to pitch for 4-Nation tournament ICC chairman nomination among items to be discussed

By Kushan Sarkar
New Delhi, Apr 10 (PTI) The all-powerful ICC board will conclude its two-day meeting on Sunday with the process of nominating/renominating the chairman along with the ambitious four-nation proposal pitched by PCB chairman Ramiz Raja to be placed on the table.
     Raja, who has prepared a white paper for an annual four-nation meet (T20/ODI) involving Pakistan, India, Australia and England, to be held under the aegis of ICC, believes that revenue to the tune of USD 750 million could be raked in by the parent body and distributed among its members.
     While India only plays Pakistan in multi-nation events like Asia Cup and World Cup, the multi-nation tournament becomes a tricky issue and it remains to be seen whether BCCI shows any keen interest.
     As of now, BCCI wants to honour all its bilateral commitments with a jam-packed calendar and whether a window can be squeezed in is the bone of contention.
     While it is understood that ICC, which doesn't allow member nations to conduct more than tri-nation meets, would not like to organize an event which can dilute its own marquee events like T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup.
     However, with ICC's chairmanship up for grabs unless Greg Barclay seeks a renomination, there could be interesting developments which might emerge after Sunday's meeting gets over.
     While there is a buzz that Barclay might seek renomination but in politics of cricket adminstration, one month is a lot of time and it will be till second week of May that the New Zealander might get a chance to seek extension if he wishes to.
     If not, then any candidate from the member nation might throw his hat in the ring with nominations from two other full member nations.
     The BCCI hasn't yet made any official announcement whether anyone from its top brass will throw their respective hats in the ring.
    
     Afghanistan women's cricket
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     The ICC has a long-term plan to restart women's cricket in Afghanistan, a nation currently run by the Taliban. The ICC is trying to chalk out a roadmap that could see women returning to cricket grounds in war-ravaged country.
    
     Women's Test matches depend on Member nations
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     The ICC has left it on member nations to decide how many women's Test matches they are willing to play and also the duration of the matches.
     "If any member nation wants to play five day Tests, it will be their prerogative and those who want to stick to four-day can do so. The members can decide," an ICC board member said. PTI KHS KHS ATK
ATK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)