Report: ICC Joins USOPC in Calls for Resignation of USA Cricket Board

The International Cricket Council has joined with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee in pushing USA Cricket to do a full reset of the organization so that it can be recognized as the sport’s national governing body ahead of the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angels.

That communication from the ICC to USA Cricket was accessed by ESPNcricinfo. The roadmap, which comprises six steps and was formulated by the ICC with USOPC involvement, involves USA Cricket removing its existing independent directors and replacing them with the three new names with one being a female.

All independent directors of the board at USA Cricket have been urged to resign immediately as part of a leadership change throughout the organization, reported the Times of India recently. Cricket is among five new sports added to the LA28 program and needs to have a recognized NGB.

The website reported that in an email it reviewed, David Patterson, senior governance adviser to the USOPC, told USA Cricket Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Atkeison “that the committee wants every independent board member to step down” and to have new independent members appointed as replacements. ESPNcricinfo said that Patterson has told Atkeison that if USA Cricket did not follow the USOPC’s recommendations, it would not be eligible for certification as a national governing body.

Atkeison joined USA Cricket in August 2024. The organization had started its process to become sanctioned as the national governing body for the sport in February 2024 but the recent Times of India report said “unless the USOPC’s conditions are met, the committee will not open the application window for recognizing a national governing body for cricket — effectively barring USAC from overseeing Olympic cricket in the United States.”