Turmoil continues in USA Cricket as Chair defies ICC and Olympic oversight
TimesofIndia.com in Manchester:
The governance crisis within USA Cricket (USAC) persists as chairman, Venu Pisike, has resisted directives from both the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), who have
called for leadership changes
.
Both the ICC and the USOPC had written to USAC advocating for a comprehensive restructuring, including the resignation of current board members and transition to a board composed of independent directors. The ICC has warned USAC of potential suspension if there are no reforms, while the USOPC has linked recognition of
cricket for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
to compliance with their directives.
Despite this, Pisike advised USAC board members not to resign, actively rejecting the resignation of independent director Pintoo Shah, who had stepped down in compliance with the ICC and the USOPC recommendations.
READ | Satya Nadella's column: Cricket is USA not an arrival but a homecoming
Further complicating the matter, player-director Nadia Gruny, who had expressed willingness to resign and assist with the transition to new directors, was abruptly removed from the board, contrary to her proposed orderly progress.
Additionally, Pisike proposed a resolution during a July 13 board meeting to terminate a long-standing agreement with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the organisation that operates
Major League Cricket (MLC)
, the primary ICC-sanctioned professional cricket league in the United States.
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This move came only two weeks after USA Cricket publicly voiced strong support for MLC.
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However, the resolution failed to pass after several board members exited the meeting, objecting to Pisike's stance and reminding him of the ICC and USOPC directives. Sources familiar with the situation indicate Pisike may attempt to revisit the resolution, although the impact on the MLC remains uncertain should such a measure pass.
This crisis follows a period of scrutiny dating back to July 2024, when the ICC placed USAC under notice for governance-related non-compliance issues and subsequently formed a normalisation committee tasked with restructuring cricket administration in the country. On June 18, 2025, ICC representatives explicitly urged Pisike and other board members to voluntarily step down during a meeting in Los Angeles.
Read | Kieron Pollard's column: US cricket's American dream is slowly, but surely, becoming real
The ICC's directives align with the USOPC's recommendations, which seek comprehensive reforms in US cricket governance ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. David Patterson, Senior Governance Advisor at USOPC, called for the resignation and subsequent replacement of independent board members in an email to USAC CEO Johnathan Atkeison.
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