Zimbabwe's membership at stake as ICC sets October 8 deadline

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) a deadline of October 8, 2019 to "unconditionally reinstate" its governing board that was democratically elected on June 14, failing which it will be forced to act further action which includes termination of membership, reports Cricbuzz.

The ZC board currently stands suspended by ICC after it was found guilty of political interference from the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), a government-run enterprise in the country.

The suspension means that Zimbabwe stand deprived of all its rights as a member, which means no ICC revenue and no participation in all cricket sanctioned by the ICC. The deadline that's been set for Zimbabwe to mend their domestic mess means it won't surely be able to feature in the Women's and Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier, respectively set to be held in Scotland in August-September and in Dubai in September-October.

The ICC also categorically mentioned that ZC were found in breach of Articles 2.4 (D) and (E) of the ICC Articles of Association. The ICC will convene for its next meeting on October 12, four days after the deadline set for Zimbabwe.

"Should you wish the ICC to reconsider your suspension, you are required to take all relevant steps to ensure that the BZC elected on 14 June 2019 is unconditionally reinstated forthwith and, in any event, no later than 8 Oct 2019 so that the ICC can review the matter when it convenes on 12 Oct2019 for its next meeting," the statement from ICC reads.