ICC Forms 8-Member Committee to Explore Two-Tier Test System and Champions League T20 to Relaunch in 2026.

In July 2025, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the apex governing body for international cricket, established an 8-member working group to examine the possibility of implementing a two-tier Test cricket structure. The move, spearheaded by ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta and under the leadership of Jay Shah, was formalized during the ICC Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Singapore.

      - The 8-member working group includes key figures such as Jay Shah, Richard Gould (Chief of the England and Wales Cricket Board – ECB), and Todd Greenberg (CEO of Cricket Australia), among other senior representatives from various ICC member boards. This committee has been instructed to submit its final recommendations by the end of 2025.

      - The potential shift in the Test format could impact the World Test Championship (WTC), which currently involves nine teams. If implemented, the new two-tier model would restructure it into two divisions, each consisting of six teams, to promote competitiveness and balance among cricketing nations.

      - Any changes to the current format will not apply immediately but are intended to be introduced in the next WTC cycle, specifically from 2027 to 2029. This timeline provides sufficient opportunity for evaluation and adaptation by the cricketing community.

Main Point :-   (i) In addition to the two-tier system, the ICC AGM also confirmed that the ICC World Test Championship Finals for the years 2027, 2029, and 2031 will be hosted by England. This follows the successful conduct of WTC finals in 2021, 2023, and 2025 in the country, consolidating England’s role as a regular host for key cricket events.

      (ii) The ICC also announced the re-launch of the Champions League T20 (CLT20), a franchise-based international T20 competition, with discussions held during the AGM. The tournament, which last took place in 2014, is likely to return in September 2026. The previous edition saw Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final held in Bengaluru.

(iii) Additionally, the ICC introduced three new associate member representatives for the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC): Gurumurthy Palani (France Cricket), Anurag Bhattnagar (Cricket Hong Kong), and Gurdeep Klair (Cricket Canada). In a positive move for cricket's global outreach, Timor-Leste and Zambia were granted Associate Member status, increasing the total number of ICC members to 108.
About International Cricket Council (ICC)