Indra Nooyi was on the ICC board for six years (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
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With American cricket in complete disarray, just months ahead of the men’s T20 World Cup and as the Los Angeles Olympics looms, high-profile figures could be tasked with engineering a turnaround of the troubled governing body.
It is learned that Faisal Hasnain, a former long-time cricket administrator, and Indra Nooyi, the legendary ex PepsiCo boss, could be sounded out to head an interim USA Cricket board.
More light should be shed at next month’s International Cricket Council board meetings, where the topic is set to be a major talking point.
USA Cricket was recently suspended by the ICC for “repeated and continued breaches of its obligations” having in July been given three months to address its governance issues – as I first reported.
The ICC is temporarily overseeing the management and administration of the national teams, who can compete in major events including next year’s T20 World Cup.
Despite an increasingly fractured board, USA Cricket has dug its heels in amid a legal battle with American Cricket Enterprises, until recently its strategic partner to operate Major League Cricket.
Some directors have called for the ICC to conduct an investigation into a board that has filed for bankruptcy. The ICC has drawn up a revamp of USA Cricket, which includes replacing the board with several independent directors.
There is a push for the ICC to install those with considerable gravitas to steer this ship through troubled waters. Hasnain and Nooyi, who both live in the U.S., fit the bill.
Faisal Hasnain (L) is an experienced cricket administrator (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)
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Hasnain had two stints with the ICC as chief financial officer along with senior roles at the governing bodies of Pakistan and Zimbabwe. While Nooyi was the first-ever independent woman director on the ICC board when she joined in 2018.
She finished up on the board last year after three terms and has still not been replaced. Nooyi was a somewhat polarizing figure on the board, it is learned, but her big-profile and experience in the sport should appeal given the detrimental impact the current tumult is having in cricket’s No.1 growth market.
Following several of his predecessors, ICC chair Jay Shah journeyed to the U.S. recently in a bid to sort out a situation that is spiralling out of control. There are major ramifications and a sense of urgency due to the fast approaching Los Angeles Games, where cricket will make its Olympic return after 128 years.
The ripple effects could have implications into the proposed stadium for the Los Angeles Olympics – as I first reported in August.
The bitter legal feud with ACE, a private consortium which has pumped $150 million into the sport domestically, feared to undermine cricket’s development in the world’s most lucrative sports market.
For some smaller Full Members and Associates – the 98 nations below the elite 12 FMs who get more power, fixtures and money – there has been some resentment towards “perennial problem U.S” – as dubbed by one senior administrator.
“There has been so much chaos over the last 10 years. There should have been more effort in getting the governance right before hosting a World Cup there and developing MLC,” the administrator said.
The T20 World Cup was co-hosted by the U.S. (Photo by J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Newsday via Getty Images
But before an interim board is set up, those clinging onto power remain resolute. Earlier in the week, USA Cricket published an essay partially titled – Standing Firm In Adversity.
“The recent suspension of USA Cricket by the International Cricket Council has been one of the most difficult moments in our history,” it read.
“It has caused uncertainty and disappointment for players, members, volunteers, and supporters. Yet this moment must not be mistaken for dysfunction.
“It is the result of difficult but necessary decisions taken to protect the game, the organization, and the future of cricket in the United States.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlavalette/2025/10/15/high-profile-figures-might-be-tasked-with-stabilizing-american-cricket/
