The campaign for the election of the Crickets CEO’s committee begins with the definition of the general meeting

Mubashshir Usmani, the up-and-coming administrator who ran the UAE’s controversial T20 league, retained his position on the committee of chief executives after Monday’s election to kick off the governing body’s annual meeting in Durban, South Africa.

Usmani, the Emirates Cricket Board boss, got the joint-highest number of votes – sources said – among the nine candidates with 26 nominations, along with Rashpal Bajwa (Canada), who was also re-elected.

Denmark’s Umair Butt won a seat on the influential CEC with 16 votes ahead of incumbents Sumod Damodor and Richard Done (PNG), who each had 15 votes.

Done was a high-profile candidate as the former ICC director of high performance and had most recently worked for USA Cricket.

Damodar, a veteran of Associate cricket, was the only candidate to publicly criticize the proposed revenue-sharing model for the ICC’s $3 billion media rights deal from 2024-2027, calling the share set for cash-strapped small nations “ridiculous”.

The controversial revenue sharing model is due to be discussed at ICC meetings this week, but as I previously reported, it is unlikely to be modified as proposed.

India’s wealthy governing bodies are set to receive $230 million a year – or 38.5 percent more than its current share of 22 percent – in net surplus revenue from the media rights deal for 2024-27.

Associate members – the 96 countries considered below the 12 top-tier full members who are granted more funding and power – are set to get about 11 percent, roughly the same percentage as in the current model.

But because the media rights deal is significantly larger than the $2 billion agreement for 2015-2023, all countries will receive significantly more money per year, which has finally seemed to appease many administrators.

The only real uncertainty is whether the distribution model will be approved by the board this week or at the next quarterly meetings later this year.

Another issue under discussion is the maximum number of foreign players in T20 leagues as fears grow over the explosive growth of franchise leagues such as the UAE’s ILT20 and America’s Major League Cricket, which are just days away from launch.

Usmani, the head of Emirates Cricket, which endorsed the privately owned ILT20, has been on a task force that has been looking into the issue amid concerns among full members about a potential drain of talent as players are lured to new good leagues.

The ILT20 is mostly filled with foreign players, which is different from the T20 competitions of the full member countries.

Usmani has been the voice of Associates in the working group and his position is clear after the CEC elections.

The CEC is meant to promote and develop cricket globally, while governing and regulating the sport at an international level. It is highly sought after for the Associate Chief and is seen as a stepping stone to join the ICC board, where the real power lies in global cricket.

Usmani, Bajwa and Butt are also part of the all-important development committee, which is looking into the governance and regulation of cricket, primarily at the associate member level.

Newly elected CEC associate members receive two-year terms.