ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | Associates make a case for more opportunities

Bengaluru: The Netherlands almost pulled off a heist against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup opener on February 7 in Colombo. On the same day, in Mumbai, the United States of America gave a real scare to India by reducing them to 67/6 before skipper Suryakumar Yadav rescued them.

The next day, at the same venue, Nepal pushed England to the limit and fell short by just one big hit from scripting the biggest shock of the tournament.

While an upset from an Associate nation didn't materialise, Namibia, Netherlands, World Cup debutants Nepal gave a good account of themselves against traditional powerhouses and earned the right to demand more assistance from the International Cricket Council -- both financial aid and an increase in the number of opportunities to play the Full Members.

So what do associate countries get from ICC's net surplus earnings every year? Of the USD 600 million that the world body makes during the 2024-2026 cycle, the majority of which comes from selling global broadcast rights of its events, only 11.2 per cent or approximately USD 67.5 million (Rs 612 crore approx) is distributed among 98 Associate Members -- nations other than 12 Full Members or Test playing countries. This comes to roughly Rs 6.24 per nation every year.

To put that into perspective, it's less than half the amount (Rs 14.2 crore) Chennai Super Kings paid each to buy two uncapped Indian players Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma.

This is not to criticise the lop-sided riches of Indian cricket; rather an attempt to highlight the gulf between a Full Member and an Associate nation. Even the gap in earnings between the lowest earning Afghanistan (USD 16.82 million) and an Associate nation is huge. But, by sheer dint of passion and perseverance, Associate nations have proved they could be more competitive with a little more support from the ICC which can revisit its revenue distribution formula that ensures more funds for Associate nations without massively reducing Full Members' share.

The revenue is currently distributed based on cricket history, performance, commercial contribution and Full Member Status. These four parameters naturally tilt weightage towards the so-called Big Three (India, England, Australia) who garner an annual combined share of nearly 52 per cent of which India alone take home more than 70 per cent. This is not to say India -- who have an 85.3 per cent commercial weightage according to ICC's revenue sharing model -- don't deserve the Rs 2000 crore share. But a more equitable distribution framework should be worked out that compensates Associates.

On one hand, we have a country (Namibia) not having a single flood-lit facility in the entire country while even the Karnataka State Cricket Association-conducted league cricket T20 final is played under lights. The difference is stark, and reality harsh.

"Financial models are not sustainable for us. ICC's commercial model is counterproductive for us," Rashid Shah, a Netherlands board member, told PTI. "We get a fraction of the funds from there. We have to generate our own models to get the finances and get the cricket development going." 

Apart from financial assistance, another major grievance by the Associates has been the lack of game-time against Full Members apart from World Cups. Unlike in Asia, where the Asia Cup provides an opportunity to minnows like Nepal, Oman and UAE to face biggies from the continent, the European or African nations rarely get a chance to square off against stronger teams. Only when you test yourselves against the best in the world, will you get a sense of the standard at the highest level and understand what one needs to do to raise the bar.

Several players from the Associates used the ongoing T20 World Cup as a platform to make their legitimate demand for more opportunities against Test-playing nations.

"I think the associates have shown at what level associate cricket is at the moment," said the Netherlands player Bas de Leede. "We can only ask for more and more opportunities against the best because that's ultimately the way that we're going to improve as a collective. But for us at the moment, we've got nothing planned up until the start of June where we have a next series for World Cup qualification. So yeah, we'll have a couple of weeks off and then training starts again."

So what kind of help or support would you look at from the powers that be?

"Obviously, the schedules at the moment are pretty crammed already with franchise leagues and the future tours programme (FTP) of the ICC. So I think it's hard to schedule full series against top nations but I think one way that could potentially be an option is when travelling teams come to England for example, there's an option of playing a warm-up in Scotland or a warm-up in the Netherlands. I think there's ways around that where we still can get exposure of playing against the best teams and they get something out of it as well." 

Given the tight international schedule, it may be tough for the ICC to ensure more such engagements, but individual cricket boards — especially those from India, Australia and England — should come forward to address this issue. 

ICC has done well to expand the T20 World Cup to 20 teams in the last two editions. Given the nature of the format, which provides a more level-playing field than Tests and ODIs do, and the incentive to play on the cricket's biggest stage has not only helped cricket's growth across the globe but also taken firmer roots in nations where cricket is as alien as ice hockey in India.

As ODIs continue to lose their allure in the face of the proliferation of the shortest version, the T20 World Cup, sooner or later, could replace the 50-over World Cup as the ICC's flagship event. And with T20 being a great vehicle to spread cricket in non-traditional parts and make the game a truly global sport, ICC and other stakeholders are duty-bound to help Associates improve their standards.

Highlights - ICC’s revenue streams Broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals, event hosting fees, portion of ticket sales and licensing agreements and various commercial activities linked to ICC events. Revenue sharing parameters Cricket history, performance, commercial contribution and Full Member status India’s commercial weightage India’s commercial weightage is about 85.3%, according to the model and broadcasting rights for ICC from the country are valued at over $3 billion (approximately Rs 27,200 crore) for the 2024-27 cycle.