Kolkata: The UAE’s growing stature in the international cricket community got a seal of approval as they are among the three Associate Member representatives who have been elected to the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) following an online ballot.
Mubashir Usmani, Secretary of Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), who was one of the hands-on officials in a seamless conduct of Indian Premier League (IPL) last year - will be representing the UAE at the CEC meetings. Sumod Damodar (Botswana Cricket Association) was re-elected to serve another two-year term on the CEC and they will be joined by Rashpal Bajwa (Cricket Canada).
The three candidates received the highest number of votes from the Associate Member electorate and will be part of the CEC through until the end of the 2023 ICC Annual Conference.
“I am extremely happy and I thank those who have voted for me. This win comes with a lot of responsibility and I will work for the welfare of the Associate members, as well as the ICC,” Usmani, a UAE resident with roots in Mumbai, told Cricbuzz after the win. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah is the representative from India in the CEC.
Usmani got 20 votes from an electoral college of 44. Damodar, who was a sitting member of the CEC, managed one less than Usmani while Canada’s Bajwa got 17 votes.
This is not the first time the UAE have earned a representation in any of the ICC boards. Mazhar Khan, a veteran administrator, was the ECB’s representative in the ICC Board of Directors from 2005-2007.
The ongoing year is an extremely significant one for ECB as they will be hosting the remaining part of the IPL 2021 from mid-September, to be followed by the T20 World Cup, of which the BCCI will be the official hosts.
The UAE has also submitted their Expression of Interest (EOI) to the world governing body for hosting any of the major ICC white ball events for an eight-year period from 2023 to 2031. Some of the major ICC events on the cards will be the 2023 Women’s ODI Champions Cup, 2024 men’s and women’s T20 Champions Cup, 2026 men’s and women’s T20 World Cup, Men’s ODI World Cup and Women’s ODI Champions Cup, 2028 Men’s and women’s Champions Cup, Men’s ODI Champions Cup, Women’s ODI World Cup, 2030 Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cup and Men’s ODI World Cup.
