Crisis in USA Cricket: Calls for ICC Intervention Amid Turmoil

The USA Cricket Board's directors have urged the ICC for immediate intervention to remove the rival USAC group, citing organizational collapse. They demand a forensic audit and public disclosure to restore integrity. The turmoil follows USAC's suspension, with further challenges leading to a bankruptcy filing.

The directors of the USA Cricket Board have urgently called for the International Cricket Council's intervention to remove a rival group of directors, including the chair, Venu Pisike. The division within the organization has escalated since the ICC suspended the USA board, leading to a deeper fallout.

Directors Arjun Rao Gona, Kuljit Singh Nijjar, and Patricia Whittaker, who was ousted last year, have appealed to the ICC to probe the organization's collapse. In a joint statement, they asked for a forensic audit of USAC's dealings, stressing the need to make such findings public. The trio's statement was cited by ESPNcricinfo.

The statement came after USAC's last week's media release expressing confusion over the ICC's September 23 suspension decision. After a meeting chaired by Pisike, USAC decided to file for bankruptcy to restructure financially. Nine directors, including five who approved this decision, attended the meeting, while four others left in protest.

ICC had suspended USAC for recurring breaches of obligations under its Constitution. A six-step roadmap by the ICC Normalisation Committee, led by Jay Shah, suggests an organizational overhaul starting with appointing new independent directors and facilitating new elections.

Nijjar, Gona, and Whittaker insist the Normalisation Committee must take control of USAC and conduct an independent investigation into USA Cricket's collapse, citing breaches, misuse, and conflicts of interest. They call for a full forensic audit and public disclosure to restore transparency, while safeguarding athletes during the transition.

(With inputs from agencies.)