Jay Shah, the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and Sourav Ganguly, the ex-India captain and former BCCI President, have joined the newly-formed World Cricket Connects Advisory Board, said the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

The newly-formed Board replaces the MCC World Cricket Committee, which was established in 2006 and had its final meeting at Lord’s last year. MCC added that the new Connects Board will meet virtually across the year in the planning of World Cricket Connects, and in person immediately after the annual event, apart from working closely with MCC Chairman Mark Nicholas.

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“As the Club evolves the World Cricket Connects concept, the aim is for it to become the leading symposium in the game, facilitating the debate of strategic issues in an independent forum and establishing a consensus on paths to ensure cricket’s future success.”

“To achieve this objective, MCC has revealed today that a new World Cricket Connects Advisory Board (Connects Board) has been formed. This independent group will shape the annual World Cricket Connects agenda, help facilitate the event’s discussions, and in turn, maximise the opportunity for genuine impact on the health of the game,” said the MCC.

Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain and ex-MCC President, will be the chairman of the new Connects Board. Other members include Mel Jones (Former Australia international and current broadcaster), Heather Knight (England women’s captain), Graeme Smith (Former South Africa captain and League Commissioner at SA20), and Andrew Strauss (Former England captain and former Director of Cricket at ECB).

People like Anurag Dahiya (Chief Commercial Officer at ICC), Chris Dehring (CEO at West Indies Cricket), Sanjog Gupta (CEO-Sports, JioStar), Trudy Lindblade (CEO at Cricket Scotland), Heath Mills (Executive Chair at World Cricketers’ Association), Imtiaz Patel (Former Chair of SuperSport, MultiChoice and DStv) form the rest of the new Connects Board.

The next edition of MCC’s World Cricket Connects symposium, whose inaugural edition was in July 2024, will be held at Lord’s on June 7 and 8 ahead of the 2025 ICC World Test Championship Final between South Africa and Australia.

“Firstly, we are delighted to be bringing World Cricket Connects back to Lord’s in 2025, ahead of an immense meeting between South Africa and Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final. We are looking forward to welcoming many of the game’s most influential figures to debate the most important topics that dominate global cricket.”

“In planning the second event, an important step has been made in the forming of the World Cricket Connects Advisory Board. We have assembled an impressive group of the best minds in cricket across several different areas relevant to our sport. I am delighted to be working with this experienced group and excited about what we can collectively achieve for the benefit of the global game,” said Nicholas.