Overshooting its own budget is not the only fallout for the ICC from its recently concluded men’s T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies. ESPNcricinfo understands that Disney-Star*, the ICC’s broadcast partners, have raised concerns about the event, asking whether the ICC believes it delivered a product that justified the investment made in the rights, and whether better value overall can be derived from the rights deal.
Among the concerns raised was the schedulling of matches, in particular the timing of those games which ended up being broadcast in the early morning hours in the subcontinent, thereby affecting viewership significantly. These include most of West Indies’ games, the co-hosts and two-time champions, as well as the first semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan.
It is also believed that the broadcaster had communicated its worries about the drop-in pitches that were ultimately used for the Nassau County stadium for the New York leg of the tournament. The venue saw a succession of bowling-friendly surfaces on which two sides were bowled out for less than 100 and the highest completed score was 137.
The first two surfaces were eventually rated as “unsatisfactory” by the ICC, only one rung above “unfit”. The venue also hosted the marquee India-Pakistan match, for which the pitch was rated “satisfactory” but where Pakistan failed to chase down a target of 120.
Later in the tournament, the Trinidad surface for the semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan, where the latter was routed for 56 on a brutish pitch with excessive seam and uneven bounce, was also rated “unsatisfactory”.
Through its various iterations, Disney-Star has held the the rights to every single ICC event since the 2011 men’s ODI World Cup. Last year, Disney-Star acquired the rights to broadcast ICC events in the India market in a four-year deal worth just above USD 3 billion. Dissatisfaction from such a long-term broadcast partner is likely to be taken seriously, given the implications it has for all ICC members, who receive annual revenue derived from the rights deal. Most members, other than India, Australia and England, rely heavily on these revenues.
ESPNcricinfo understands that there were discussions within the ICC to swap the USA-West Indies event with either India in 2026 or England in 2028 in order to give the venues more time to get ready, but those discussions did not go far.
Apart from New York, Florida came in for criticism as a venue as well, where matches could not be held even though the majority of the rain there fell in the preceding week. The ground’s drainage was not up to date, and it didn’t have enough covers to protect the whole playing area, which led to frustrating scenes where the pitch was ready but there were wet patches on the outfield despite strong sunlight. Three of the four matches in Florida were abandoned, one of them an India game.
ESPNcricinfo understands that the disgruntlement is limited to this event, the handling of which is already undergoing an audit after it emerged that the original budget for the US leg ballooned over by up to USD 20 million. The event has prompted one idea to be floated to convert the 2025 ODI Champions Trophy to T20Is. There has not been any development on this since the grievance was first raised a month ago. This issue was not discussed in the ICC meetings this Tuesday.
*Disney-Star and ESPNcricinfo are part of the Walt Disney Company.
