The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Cricket Canada from membership for "serious breaches of membership obligations." The decision, reached during a meeting in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday, follows months of mounting concerns over governance practices at the national cricket governing body.
In May, the ICC froze financial aid to Cricket Canada after allegations emerged of a lack of transparent governance and failure to submit audited financial reports. Bhavjit Jauhar, Cricket Canada's new interim chief executive, said the suspension came as a surprise but that the organization would not appeal, instead "committing to full compliance with all requirements." He said an independent investigation would examine governance issues and financial controls.
In recent months, Cricket Canada has been at the center of allegations aired by CBC's investigative program The Fifth Estate. The CBC series uncovered corruption, coercion, match-fixing, and other irregularities within the organization. Specifically, the program highlighted suspicious player promotions and allegations from senior members that leadership had orchestrated certain match details. A national team member said some players were "fast-tracked" into captaincy roles, and those who did not cooperate received death threats.
Earlier, Canada's captain was interrogated by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit after making errors during a February friendly against New Zealand, raising match-fixing suspicions. Investigations also linked corruption allegations to the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate—a transnational criminal organization run from a prison in Delhi, India.
Lawrence Bishnoi is suspected of involvement in multiple murders and assassination plots in Canada. Canadian police believe syndicate members may have been involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist shot dead outside a temple in British Columbia. Bishnoi is also accused of ordering the murder of rapper Sidhu Moose Wala. The Canadian government recently designated the gang a terrorist organization, alleging it uses "killings, shootings, and arson" to extort and intimidate diaspora communities, and maintains links with certain governing parties in India.
The ICC said that during the suspension, Canadian teams may still compete in ICC-sponsored tournaments to avoid disrupting players. However, Cricket Canada will only have access to partial financial resources through a controlled ICC mechanism. The organization must meet conditions to have its membership reinstated.
