USA Cricket’s preparations for a packed international calendar have been repeatedly disrupted over the past few months, with delays in funding disbursal and administrative bottlenecks severely affecting both senior and junior teams ahead of key ICC events.
The most recent setback involves the Under-19 men’s team, which was scheduled to depart for South Africa on December 27 for a 10-day preparatory camp ahead of the U-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe in January. That trip has now been delayed after several players failed to obtain visas in time.
Sources stated that responsibility for visa applications and travel arrangements rested with ICC-appointed staff, given USA Cricket’s ongoing suspension. However, visa applications were submitted only on December 20, leaving insufficient time for processing and ultimately forcing the postponement of the tour.
The delay is the latest in a series of disruptions that have undermined preparation across age groups. Earlier this year, USA Cricket had planned to send its U-19 side to the West Indies for a preparatory series against the host nation and England’s U-19 team. That tour was unilaterally cancelled by Cricket West Indies, which cited funding concerns.
Similarly, a senior men’s training camp scheduled in Sri Lanka in October, ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 series in Dubai, was called off after USA Cricket’s suspension by the ICC came into effect.
Logistical challenges extended into the competition itself. Sources said the ICC did not arrange team travel for the senior men’s side to Dubai, forcing the suspended board to make private arrangements at short notice. The squad arrived just in time for the tournament, which ran from October 26 to November 5.
Despite the disruption, the USA won all four of its matches and currently sits atop the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 (2023–27) points table.
The senior men’s team is next scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka on January 26 for a preparatory camp ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka and India will co-host from February 7. The U-19s will compete in Zimbabwe in January, while the longer-term roadmap includes qualification and preparation for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
The backdrop to these disruptions is USA Cricket’s suspension by the ICC in September for what it described as serious breaches of membership criteria. Shortly after, USA Cricket filed for bankruptcy, having earlier terminated its long-term commercial partnership with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the owner of Major League Cricket.
Sportstar has learnt that in a letter dated December 9 to ICC General Manager (Development) William Glenwright, USA Cricket chairman Venu Pisike confirmed that the board had agreed to the ICC’s debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing terms. However, those terms covered only High Performance expenses.
The letter also noted that on November 10, the ICC declined USA Cricket’s request that it should not interfere with the termination of the ACE contract or require its reinstatement under previously terminated terms. USA Cricket had ended its agreement with ACE in August, citing multiple material breaches of the term sheet signed in May 2019.
Following the expiration of the ICC’s DIP proposal, ACE filed a motion in the Bankruptcy Court, a move supported by the ICC. Pisike further highlighted an unpaid reimbursement of USD 63,000 owed to USA Cricket for hosting the U-19 Americas Qualifier in August, adding that repeated follow-ups had gone unanswered.
It has since emerged that the ICC has settled the USD 63,000 reimbursement and communicated that it will clear outstanding dues to senior men’s players and coaches.
With three major ICC events looming in quick succession, the cumulative effect of delayed funding decisions, unclear administrative control and disrupted planning has left USA Cricket’s teams scrambling to prepare, often with little certainty beyond the next departure date.
Published on Dec 26, 2025