The latest T20 league to be launched, the USA-based Major League Cricket, has attracted a number of international stars but will operate without official status.
Without official T20 status, the records achieved by the players during the tournament will not be reflected in their career stats. Even if Andre Russell scores the fastest T20 hundred in the edition or Anrich Nortje registers his career-best figures, the feats will be relegated to the “miscellaneous” or the “other T20” section in the database of the statisticians.
Is the MLC sanctioned by the ICC?
The Major League Cricket has been sanctioned by USA Cricket after initial disputes with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the league’s organisers. Soon after the country’s official administrative body approved the league, the International Cricket Council sanctioned the league as well. The stamp of approval by the ICC allowed the Full Members to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to their players to participate in the league.
If the league had not been sanctioned by the ICC, it would have been termed Disapproved Cricket, with Members requested not to provide NOCs to their cricketers.
Any tournament that does not adhere to ICC’s guidelines is an unsanctioned league. Players who take part in such events can face consequences, varying from fines to lifetime bans. The Indian Cricket League, held between 2007 and 2009, was termed a “rebel league” with all players being banned from other events.
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If the MLC is ICC-sanctioned, why doesn’t it have official status?
The ICC can approve leagues anywhere in the world if the formalities are in order as per the Regulations on Sanctioning of Cricket Events. However, a nod of approval by the ICC only means that players from across the world can take part in the tournament without the fear of being debarred.
On the other hand, a league is given official status only if it is hosted by a Full Member country. The ICC regulations state that sanctioned events hosted by non-Full Member countries cannot have stats and records attributed to them.
As the MLC is being held in the USA, an Associate country, it does not have official status. The lack of official status does not mean that the MLC is not a legitimate tournament. It simply means that the records achieved by the players during the tournament will not be counted towards their career statistics.
Which other leagues do not have official status?
A number of T10 leagues in the world do not have official status, including the Abu Dhabi T10 League or the upcoming US Masters T10 League.
The Global T20 Canada, which was held in 2018 and 2019, did not have official status, and neither did this year’s ILT20, which was hosted by the United Arab Emirates, a non-Full-Member country.
In the women’s game, the Fairbreak Invitational Tournament, an event run by a club in Hong Kong, is sanctioned by the ICC but is not recognised as an official competition statistically.
