CHENNAI: Expected to decide the fate of the T20 World Cup scheduled in Australia later this year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) came up with this surprising announcement on Thursday after its Board meeting that it will launch an investigation into matters of confidentiality within its own system.
Deferring announcement on matters listed on the meeting agenda like the World Cup and initiating the process to elect a new chairman till June 10, the world body said instead that it was concerned about the “sanctity and confidentiality of Board matters in line with the highest standards of governance.” It’s rare if not unprecedented for the ICC to launch an investigation into affairs involving its own Board members.
“A number of Board members raised concerns over this issue recently and felt it required immediate attention to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of Board matters in line with the highest standards of governance. There was unanimous agreement to immediately initiate an independent investigation led by the ICC’s Ethics Officer and supported by global experts. The Board will be updated on this by the ICC CEO at its next meeting on 10 June,” said a statement.
In other words, this means the ICC is not sure that matters discussed and to be discussed in its Board meetings are staying within closed doors. Recently, speculation on the future of the T20 World Cup reached a peak and several news organisations reported that the event was going to be postponed, even before the ICC Board had made its decision public.
While the T20 World Cup may still be postponed considering the Covid-19 situation worldwide, it seems that ICC is more worried about the issue of information filtering out of its board room. The statement said that ICC chairman Shashank Manohar “led” the discussion on the “issue of confidentiality”.
THE ICC STATEMENT
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board met via teleconference today with all agenda items deferred until 10 June 2020 following a discussion, led by Chairman Shashank Manohar, around the issue of confidentiality.
A number of Board members had raised their concerns over this issue recently and felt it required immediate attention to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of Board matters in line with the highest standards of governance.
There was unanimous agreement to immediately initiate an independent investigation led by the ICC’s Ethics Officer and supported by global experts. The Board will be updated on this by the ICC CEO at its next meeting on 10 June 2020.
The Board also requested the ICC management continue with their discussions with stakeholders in exploring various contingency options in light of the rapidly changing public health situation caused by the COVID 19 virus.