Cricket Canada suspended by governing body due to 'serious breaches' of membership

Cricket Canada suspended by governing body due to 'serious breaches' of membership

National teams to continue to compete in events under ICC financial oversight

After a series of controversies and allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Cricket Canada’s membership.

The ICC cited the organization’s “serious breaches of its membership obligations” in a statement on its website, following a board meeting in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday.

In May, the sport’s Dubai-based international body froze Cricket Canada’s funding and gave the organization six months to get its house in order. At that time, an ICC letter said the organization lacked adequate governance systems and hadn’t filed audited financial statements.

Cricket Canada receives most of its funding from the ICC. In its 2024 financial report, on which an auditor had not signed off, the organization said the ICC had given it just over $3.6 million, or 63 per cent of that year's revenue.

CBC has asked Cricket Canada and the ICC for comment.

Previous fifth estate investigation

The move follows a fifth estate investigation published in April that revealed broader allegations of corruption, financial mismanagement and attempts to fix parts of matches by major figures at Cricket Canada. Those accused deny the allegations.

The reporting also revealed that the ICC’s anti-corruption unit was investigating national men’s team captain Dilpreet Bajwa for alleged match-fixing in an incident in Canada’s game against New Zealand in the recent Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup in Chennai, India, in February. Bajwa did not respond to CBC’s requests for comment at the time.

The ICC said Monday that Canada’s national teams can continue to participate in ICC events during the suspension. However, funding for those programs will only be accessible under ICC oversight.

Cricket Canada will be required to meet a set of conditions, including addressing governance and administrative issues, in order to be considered for reinstatement.

Steven D'Souza, Roxanna Woloshyn, Lisa Ellenwood

Steven D'Souza is a co-host of the fifth estate, Roxanna Woloshyn is a producer and Lisa Ellenwood is a senior writer with the fifth estate. They can be reached at steven.dsouza@cbc.ca and roxanna.woloshyn@cbc.ca.