The ICC on Thursday decided to convert the 2021 Champions Trophy scheduled in India into a World T20 event, finally scrapping the eight-team ODI tournament, the context and relevance of which has been questioned repeatedly.
At the end of its five-day board meeting, ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson said the global body has "unanimously agreed" that the 2021 meet in India would now be a 16-team event in the shortest format.
Richardson's announcement meant that BCCI representative Amitabh Chaudhary also voted in favour of the change after the initial opposition to the move.
This means that only for the second time ever, two ICC World T20 events will take place in two years --- the 2020 edition in Australia and the 2021 edition in India. The first time it happened was 2009 (England) and 2010 (West Indies).
"The 2021 Champions Trophy in India will now change to World T20. It fits into our strategy of growing the game," Richardson said on Thursday at a media conference at the end of the meeting.
There will be a 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cup, effectively scrapping the very concept of Champions Trophy, a tournament which was described as irrelevant by several critics given the presence of a full-fledged quadrennial World Cup.
"Well the BCCI representative attended the board meeting and the vote was passed unanimously. So I don't think that's an issue," said Richardson.
T20 status to 104 teams
The ICC has decided to grant T20 International status to all its existing 104 members in a bid to popularize the game across the globe.
The move will effectively mean that a T20 match between Argentina and Papua New Guinea will have international status from now on.
The ICC Board at its quarterly meeting decided that, "New minimum standards will be introduced making it as easy as possible for members to play international cricket in a sustainable and affordable way."
All member women's teams will be awarded T20I status on July 1, 2018 whilst all member men's teams will be awarded T20I status on January 1, 2019 following the cut-off point for qualification to the ICC World T20 2020.
Action for misconduct
In the wake of the ball-tampering scandal involving the Australian team, the International Cricket Council on Thursday promised stricter and heavier punishments, which, the apex body hoped, will act as proper deterrent.
ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said fines are not proving to be the answer and the cricket committee, headed by Anil Kumble, will review the current penalties and come forward with recommendations for it to be ratified at the ICC annual conference in Dublin from June 27-July 3.
"There were clear direction received that we want to move towards stricter and heavier sanctions for ball-tampering and all other offences that are indicative of lack of respect for your opponent, for the game, the umpires, fans, media etc," Richardson said after the conclusion of the five-day ICC meeting here.
Richardson said they had good discussions in both the forums of ICC chief executive committee and board meetings which also agreed to include offences like sledging, send-offs, and showing dissent within umpire's control.
"We want penalties in place which act as a proper deterrent. Fines are not proving to be the answer. We will ask the cricket committee to do is to review."
The ICC's cricket committee is chaired by Kumble with the assistance of Allan Border, Shaun Pollock and Courtney Walsh as it will be bolstered by the addition of Richie Richardson.
"They will help us make some recommendations that would prove a much more effective deterrent against poor players' behaviour."
The ball-tampering episode last month generated huge public outcry which Richardson described as an "eye-opener".
"We also want to encourage behaviour that epitomises the spirit of cricket. The biggest eye-opener for people in cricket was the reaction to the recent incidents in the series between South Africa and Australia."
Upholding the MCC's Spirit of Cricket will be the main aim, he said.