Toronto: Cricket Canada has termed the ICC's decision to suspend its membership as "unexpected" and said it has initiated comprehensive corrective measures to address the governance and financial deficiencies flagged by the sport's global governing body.
The ICC, at its Board meeting in Ahmedabad on Sunday, suspended Cricket Canada with immediate effect for what it described as "serious breaches" of membership obligations. However, the world body clarified that Canadian national teams would continue to remain eligible for ICC events to safeguard the interests of players.
Responding to the decision, Cricket Canada said it respected the ICC's ruling and remained committed to fulfilling all compliance requirements.
"The suspension was unexpected. Nevertheless, Cricket Canada respects the ICC's decision and is fully committed to meeting all compliance requirements. The Board has directed the Committee to accelerate its investigative and reform mandate to ensure that governance, financial oversight, and reporting systems are strengthened without delay," Cricket Canada said in a statement to 'Sportsnet'.
The governing body added that it has begun implementing remedial measures after receiving communication from the ICC.
"Since receiving ICC's notice, Cricket Canada has undertaken immediate, comprehensive, and structured corrective measures to remedy the governance, financial oversight, and administrative deficiencies identified in the ICC's correspondence," it said in the statement to the leading Canadian sports news organisation.
Cricket Canada also said it takes the concerns raised by the ICC seriously and remains focused on improving governance standards while supporting the growth of the sport in the ..
The suspension comes amid an ongoing ICC investigation into allegations of corruption involving Cricket Canada, which were highlighted in the CBC documentary 'Corruption, Crime and Cricket' earlier this year.
Cricket Canada maintained that it operates within the ICC's anti-corruption framework and remains compliant with applicable requirements of the apex body, while asserting that any findings would be based on verified facts and due process.
Canada is an associate member and participated in the T20 World Cup held in India earlier this year.
On Monday, while arriving at the decision to suspend the associate nation, the ICC said in a statement, "In taking this decision, the ICC Board was mindful of the importance of protecting the interests of Canadian players and ensuring they are not disadvantaged by the governance issues affecting the national governing body.
"Accordingly, Canadian national representative teams will continue to be eligible to participate in ICC events during the period of suspension."
The ICC will also provide Cricket Canada with a set of reinstatement conditions aimed at addressing the governance and administrative issues identified by the Board.
The progress against these conditions will be monitored by the ICC Normalisation Committee with reinstatement of membership subject to the Board being satisfied that the conditions have been fully met.
Source Name : Economic Times