West Asia situation leads to cancellation of ICC board meetings in Doha

The ongoing military conflict in West Asia has led to the cancellation of ICC Board and committee meetings which were scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar on March 25-27. Some committee meetings, however, are being reported to be held virtually in the next couple of weeks.

The scope for in-person meetings at the moment is nought and the global body is monitoring the situation to assess when it would be possible to organise the same. As of now, the probability of it lies in April, but again, the board will judge whether it would be safe for its members to travel at the time.

The meetings were supposed to include ICC Board Directors, Chief Executives, Committee members and ICC senior leadership, reported ESPNcricinfo, and the agenda involved, among other things, ICC's broadcasting deal with JioStar which is slated to end in 2027, discussions over the next FTP and qualification criteria for LA 2028.

Notably, Qatar was scheduled to host the meetings for the first time, but the minor involvement of the Gulf nation in the conflict means it is a no-go zone currently. Meanwhile, the fallout of the West Asia situation is likely to lead to the postponement of the Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka series which is scheduled to be held in the UAE from March 13 to 25.

The war-like situation has had wide-ranging impact on air travel and safety in the region, leading to the West Indies, South Africa, and the Zimbabwe teams stuck in India for several days. In fact, the West Indies would be flying back soon now after playing their last match of the T20 World Cup 2026 on March 1 in Kolkata.

Similarly, some of the South African team members are still in India after losing their semi-final on March 4 and their exit plans have still not been chalked out.