ICC freezes funding to Cricket Canada for six months

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has frozen its funding to Cricket Canada in relation to governance-related issues for the next six months. ICC's drastic step comes in the aftermath of a 43-minute-long documentary titled 'Corruption, Crime and Cricket', produced by a Canadian investigative documentary programme, The Fifth Estate, accusing Cricket Canada of being involved in corruption.

The documentary alleged "breaches of ICC policies, including concerns over Cricket Canada's governance and lack of financial oversight."

ICC's anti-corruption and integrity unit is also investigating Canada's T20 World Cup 2026 fixture against New Zealand. ICC's ACU is also investigating a telephone call recording involving former Canada head coach Khurram Chohan, in which he could be heard claiming that certain board officials (now former) applied pressure on him to select certain players on the national team.

Cricket Canada also made headlines last year after the appointment and then removal of former CEO Salman Khan. The ICC was not made aware of the criminal charges levelled against Salman. The Calgary Police have charged Salman with fraud and theft, while the latter has denied them.

Meanwhile, the suspension in funding is a major setback for Cricket Canada. The majority of Cricket Canada's earnings come from the funding released by the ICC.

According to its financial report for the year ending 2024, ICC funding accounted for 63% of the board’s total revenue, contributing CAD $3.6 million out of an overall CAD $5.7 million. This underscores the board’s reliance on ICC allocations as the primary source of income.

Notably, Cricket Canada conducted its annual general meeting (AGM) on May 9-10. After the meeting, it was announced that Arvinder Khosa, who previously served Cricket Canada as interim president, was elected on a full-time basis.

The board also announced reforms "reinforcing the organization’s commitment to institutional accountability, operational excellence, financial compliance & oversight." Cricket Canada also unveiled a new nine-person board of directors.

1. Arvinder Khosa - President
2. Ranjit Chaudhri - Vice President
3. Paramjit Shahi - Secretary
4. Amit Joshi - Director at Large
5. Hassan Mirza - Director at Large
6. Sonali Vig - Director, Player Representative - Female
7. Manzoor Chaudhary - Director, Player Representative - Male
8. Subrata Mandal - Director at Large
9. Riaz Dawood - Director at Large