Cricket's Future Cycles Shaped by ICC Meetings in Indonesia
The next decade of international cricket is being sketched out in Bali, where the International Cricket Council’s final round of 2026 board and committee meetings is under way – and the World Test Championship sits right near the top of the agenda.
Across four days of talks, eight ICC committees and the ICC Board are meeting to thrash out key decisions that will shape the men’s game from 2027 through to 2035.
At the heart of it: proposed World Test Championship match-ups for the 2027–29 and 2029–31 cycles, and the scheduling windows for all major men’s ICC events between 2028 and 2035, which are being put forward for approval.
The decisions taken here will dictate who plays whom, when, and in which windows the sport’s marquee tournaments can breathe without being suffocated by an increasingly crowded franchise calendar.
Franchise leagues under the microscope
That franchise calendar is not being ignored. The Franchise League Review Group, formed at the ICC Annual Conference in July, is delivering its first feedback in Bali.
Its brief is blunt: examine how to strengthen the ICC’s sanctioning framework so that the global cricket ecosystem can withstand the surge in franchise leagues. The group is exploring ways to better protect international cricket while recognising the commercial and playing realities of the modern game.
Alongside it, the Governance Review Committee is also reporting back with its initial recommendations. Tasked with a thorough review of how the ICC is run, its findings will feed into any future restructuring of the game’s global power base.
There is a human dimension, too. The Task Force for Afghan refugee women cricketers will present proposed next steps for the Development Pathway Programme, outlining how displaced players can be supported and kept within the game’s structures.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah underlined the weight of these meetings, describing them as a demonstration of the governing body’s strength and reach, and highlighting the value of bringing together directors and chief executives from across the world to “shape the future of our sport”.
Indonesia’s rapid rise on the global map
That future may look very different in places like Indonesia, which is hosting these meetings at a moment of sharp growth for the game within its borders.
Persatuan Cricket Indonesia has driven notable progress in participation, international exposure and infrastructure. The numbers tell their own story: Indonesia’s men played more T20Is than any other country in 2025, an extraordinary schedule for a team still carving out its identity on the global stage.
Their women’s programme is pushing forward as well. The senior women’s team made its Asia Cup debut this year, and the Under-19 women’s side has qualified for the Under-19 Asia Cup for the first time, a landmark achievement for a developing cricket nation.
The country is backing that ambition with bricks and mortar. New facilities are in the works, led by the development of the Bali International Oval, which is set to host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in 2027.
As administrators inside the meeting rooms debate Test cycles, governance models and franchise controls, the host nation outside those doors offers a clear reminder of what is at stake: a sport trying to balance tradition, expansion and a fast-changing global landscape.
