T20 World Cup Global Qualifier return, Canada suspension headline ICC Board Meeting moves

A recommendation to re-establish a Global Qualifier for ICC Men’s T20 World Cups and the suspension of Cricket Canada with immediate effect were the big headlines in the ICC’s Board Meetings in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

The board has also approved a series of significant measures to strengthen the global women’s cricket pathway, including changes to major event windows, the launch of a new development tournament, and the qualification structure for future ICC events.

The Return of the Global Qualifier for Men’s T20 World Cup

While the final format is yet to be confirmed for a Global Qualifier, ICC management has been tasked with developing a qualification structure centred on a 16-team global tournament for eight World Cup spots, with further details expected at the next round of meetings.

The decision means the format is will likely shift back to a similar framework to 2019, moving away from regional qualifiers. Emerging Cricket understands the decision has been made to ensure the strongest possible field at the World Cup proper, moving away from previous goals regional promotion widespread geographical representation.

How the allocation of teams will be set out from the five regions however will be a complicated matter. Nine teams in East Asia-Pacific all competed in qualifying with no knowledge of the next steps on the road to 2028, as well as sub-regions of the Americas, Africa and Europe. Between prospective qualifier numbers from sub-regionals and automatic regional finalists confirmed from the last T20 World Cup cycle, further regional tournament play and an extra step may be necessary to decide the 16 spots.

Canada suspended, though players thrown a lifeline

In the wake of controversies and allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement, the board as expected passed down a suspension to Cricket Canada

Citing “breaches of membership obligations,” the move is effective immediately, with funding for national team programmes to continue through an ICC-controlled mechanism while the governing body works through a set of reinstatement conditions overseen by the ICC’s Normalisation Committee.

Canada’s national teams will remain eligible to compete in ICC events despite the suspension, though the ICC’s anti-corruption unit is investigating Dilpreet Bajwa for alleged match-fixing at the recent men’s T20 World Cup.

Changes in the women’s game

Women’s cricket was another major focus of the meetings, with the approval of a 10-team ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy.

The tournament will feature five Full Members and five Associate Members, with qualification based on rankings and previous Women’s T20 World Cup qualification performances.

The competition is again intended to provide valuable high-performance opportunities for developing women’s programmes outside the established Full Member structure.

The Board also signed off on the qualification pathway for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2028. Ten of the 12 places will be filled automatically (the top eight teams from the 2026 tournament, the host nation if required, and the next highest-ranked side as of 6 July 2026), though he remaining two spots will be decided through a 10-team Global Qualifier fed by regional qualifying events.

Regional allocations for that tournament are expected to be finalised at the ICC’s July meetings.

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