Usmani and Khawaja as well as Vallipuram have been elected as Associate Member Directors

Mubashir Usmani, the general secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board, has made a strong comeback by topping the Associate Member Board elections with 23 votes for three Associate positions.

The other two winners were Imran Khawaja of Singapore with 20 votes and Mahinda Vallipuram with 13 votes.

There were 11 candidates vying for the positions, representing an electoral college of 45 Associate Members.

The elected members will serve a two-year term on the ICC Board.

A notable loss in the election was Pankaj Khimji, the highly-respected head of Oman Cricket and one of the three incumbents, alongside Neil Speight of Bermuda and Khawaja.

Khimji was recently in the news for seeking an inquiry into the expenses related to the T20 World Cup games in New York.

Usmani’s significant win was surprising since he had lost the same election two years ago.

However, the UAE cricket head, who has roots in Mumbai, was always a strong contender, especially since he runs a franchise league, IL T20, which requires teams to include Associate players in their XI.

The election for the Associate Member Director positions was part of the ICC’s five-day annual conference.

Other contestants included Sam Arthur (Costa Rica), Dr. Rudie Van Vuuren (Namibia), Sankar Renganathan (Sierra Leone), Gurumurthy Palani (France), Stephen Musaele (Rwanda), and Mahmood Gaznavi (Singapore), alongside sitting members Neil Speight (Bermuda) and Pankaj Khimji (Oman).

Usmani is also a two-time member of the Chief Executives Committee (CEC), representing the Associate Members.

Will ICC act against USAC?

Meanwhile, it is being reported that during the annual conference in Colombo, the ICC will consider placing USA Cricket (USAC) under notice of suspension for its failure to comply with ICC Associate Member protocols.

The potential suspension is due to two main reasons:

the body does not have recognition from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and it lacks a CEO.

ICC officials stated that any action against USAC is the prerogative of the Board.

USAC head Venu Piskie denied knowledge of any contemplated action against his association.

The USA is a priority region for the ICC, which has successfully managed to have cricket included in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.