ICC wants 15-16 teams playing top-level cricket, says Richardson

COLOMBO: World cricket chiefs are keen to increase the number of teams playing cricket at the highest level to “15-16”, and is working towards that under the leadership of Shashank Manohar, according to International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richardson.

“The ICC has a strategy to have more competitive teams playing at the highest level,” Richardson said in Sri Lanka, where he was at the invitation of SLC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Thilanga Sumathipala to discuss the global development of the game. “For too long we had 10 Full Members. If we are honest with ourselves, there are eight, probably nine, teams that can play cricket at the highest level.

“We like to increase that number to 15-16 countries [with] the likes of Afghanistan, Nepal, Malaysia and various other countries in the Asian region. It’s very important that we can develop their cricket to a level where they can play against the big boys on an equal basis.”