{"id":670330,"date":"2026-11-13T02:22:37","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T06:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/670330\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T02:22:37","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T06:22:37","slug":"icc-to-impose-restrictions-on-uae-and-us-t20-leagues-limits-foreign-players-to-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/670330\/","title":{"rendered":"ICC to Impose Restrictions on UAE and US T20 Leagues; Limits Foreign Players to Four"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ICC<\/figure>\n

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is preparing to introduce stricter regulations on T20 franchise cricket leagues worldwide. Key reforms under consideration include limiting the number of foreign players allowed in a team\u2019s playing XI to four. If implemented, this will deal the biggest blow to the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE and Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA.<\/p>\n

According to a report by Cricinfo, the ICC\u2019s Franchise League Review Group has recommended the new restrictions. The proposals will be deliberated upon by heads of various cricket boards and chief executive officers during ICC\u2019s quarterly meetings scheduled this weekend in Bali.<\/p>\n

A primary recommendation is to cap the number of foreign players in the playing XI of any team at four. In 2023, ILT20 and MLC were granted special exemptions from restrictions on foreign players. Currently, ILT20 allows playing nine foreign players, including one from an Associate Member country. MLC permits six foreign players. If the new rules come into effect, both leagues will have to considerably reduce the foreign player presence.<\/p>\n

While this may create more opportunities for local cricketers in the UAE and the US, there are concerns that it could affect the competitive standard of the leagues and their appeal in the global market.<\/p>\n

Notably, five of the six franchises in ILT20 and four of the franchises in MLC have ownership links with Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women\u2019s Premier League (WPL) owners.<\/p>\n

The review group has also proposed empowering the ICC to verify the accreditations granted to franchise leagues by cricket boards and conduct audits if necessary. Under the current system, full member cricket boards can directly accredit domestic leagues in their countries, but Associate Member states\u2019 leagues require ICC approval. The new provisions will allow the ICC to intervene should there be failures in responsibility or serious credibility concerns related to leagues, with authority to revoke accreditations if needed.<\/p>\n

Further, the review committee recommended restricting franchise leagues operating in countries where gambling is legally banned from entering sponsorship agreements with betting companies or their indirect brands. The aim is to curb illegal betting and corruption in matches. The committee noted that financial involvement of such companies could harm the credibility of cricket and raise doubts about the transparency of sports governance.<\/p>\n

The ICC\u2019s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) or ICC-approved agencies are to be appointed for anti-corruption monitoring of franchise leagues. For matches considered at higher risk of corruption, the use of the ICC Anti-Corruption Section\u2019s services may be mandated, with costs borne by league organisers. Leagues failing to ensure security measures and anti-corruption controls may be denied accreditation.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the committee proposed charging a special fee for franchise league accreditation. Funds collected would be used for background checks, financial transaction monitoring, and corruption investigations.<\/p>\n

This initiative comes amid increasing changes in team ownership across global franchise cricket, disputes over player remuneration, and concerns about financial transparency.<\/p>\n

If the recommendations receive approval, significant changes in the operations of global T20 leagues are expected, especially for the UAE and US leagues, which are currently highly reliant on foreign players. They will need to restructure teams and modify player selection processes to adapt to the new regulations.<\/p>\n

n<\/p>\n

Original Malayalam report: Malayalam Daily News<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is preparing to introduce stricter regulations on T20 franchise cricket leagues worldwide. Key reforms under consideration include limiting the number of foreign players allowed in a team\u2019s playing XI to four. If implemented, this will deal the biggest blow to the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE and Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA. According to a report by Cricinfo, the ICC\u2019s Franchise League Review Group has recommended the new restrictions. The proposals will be deliberated upon by heads of various cricket…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":670331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[582,170399,47748],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-670330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-middle-east-gulf","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}