The Business of Cricket and Sports
Faisal Hasnain on Fire in Babylon, the 2010 film about the great West Indies teams, and why a team's emotional bond with its people outlasts any contract.
Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands are pooling their cricket markets into one league. Smaller countries don't need the big three to build something real.
Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe have been locked out of the World Test Championship since it began. The ICC's financial excuses don't hold up.
Faisal Hasnain, former CFO of the ICC, shares the unscripted morning in 2003 when he found himself having breakfast with Sir Gary Sobers and Sir Everton Weekes at Durban Airport.
The ICC earned $1.017 billion over two years, but its own target was $1.2 billion. The 15% shortfall is the number that actually matters.
Cricket governance is failing across multiple countries, and Faisal Hasnain argues the ICC board's silence is as damaging as the bad actors themselves.
The ICC was warned in 2012 by Lord Wolf that politics and money would cripple cricket's governance. Thirteen years later, the prediction has fully arrived.
Seven parties filed objections to USA Cricket's ACE bankruptcy settlement, including a rival group offering a competing bid. The case now turns on whether the judge forces an open competitive process.
West Indies players are taking pay cuts and Cricket West Indies has gone to the ICC for money. I think the fix is separate Caribbean nations playing international cricket.
Now, I’ve worked in international cricket for over two decades, and I learned something very quickly. Some of the most important shots in cricket are never played with a bat.
Leadership in sport is a privilege granted by members, not a permanent seat of power. Recent FIFA developments make that clear.
Muhammad Ali's ten-year anniversary is a reminder that the prime years he sacrificed for principle outlasted every belt he won.
The ICC posted $756 million in revenue and a 72% surplus margin in 2025. The money is real. Whether it's being spent to grow cricket globally is a different question.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the NBA Finals on a standing room ticket he bought himself. Cricket's VVIP culture could learn something from that.
Blaming the captain when a cricket team loses is the easy move, and almost always the wrong one. Selectors, coaches, and directors shape outcomes too — and they should own the failures.
West Indies players just took a 25% salary cut. I agree with Chris Daring that the ICC's FTP revenue model is not equitable.
The World Cricketers Association says the ICC's 2027 ODI World Cup format change raises questions about transparency and player consultation that go well beyond tournament structure.
The ICC formed a governance committee, but Faisal Hasnain argues the first real test is whether it audits itself before scrutinizing member boards.
Faisal Hasnain argues that cricket's anti-corruption units know who the real fixers are but keep going after players instead. The system punishes the weakest link while the sharks stay untouched.
In 2008, the ICC moved its annual conference from Lord's to Dubai after the British government denied a visa to Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter Chingoka. A nearly century-old tradition ended over a principle.
Mirra Andreeva won the French Open at 19 and thanked her psychologist in the victory speech. It's the first time I've heard that, and it says something important about elite sport.
Financial stability in cricket comes from diversified revenue, good governance, and disciplined cost management. Boards that depend on a single income source remain permanently exposed.
The ICC's own rules ban government interference in cricket boards — but it only acts when the boards themselves complain. In Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, that's a problem.
Faisal Hasnain on the 2027 World Cup format change: three teams enter a preliminary round, two go home after two matches, and the ICC calls it consequence.
Sports law governs everything from player bans to billion-dollar broadcast deals. It is the legal framework holding professional sport together.
A yellowed 1949 Bradman biography found on my dad's shelf shaped my love for cricket for life. I read it a dozen times and still remember entire lines from it decades later.
Cricket placed just 2 personalities on Time's inaugural list of the 100 most influential people in sport. Faisal Hasnain argues the number reflects a sport with money and reach but no real global influence.
The ICC still hasn't acknowledged that Bangladesh's government dissolved a democratically elected cricket board in April. Two months of silence on a textbook constitutional breach.
Qualified cricket teams may still be sent home before the 2027 ODI World Cup main stage. The players it affects most were never consulted.
The spirit of cricket, rooted in mutual respect and fair play, is the heartbeat of the game. Courtney Walsh's 1987 World Cup gesture made it legendary.
France Cricket lacks recognition from its own national sporting authorities, yet its representative sits on the ICC board advising on global governance.
Courtney Walsh gave up a World Cup win in 1987 to warn a batter rather than run him out. That single choice explains what the spirit of cricket actually requires.
Muhammad Ali died ten years ago today. His titles were the smallest part of what he left behind.
The ICC keeps staging major events in countries where cricket already thrives, cycling through India, England, and Australia while its growth mandate goes unmet.
Cricket Scotland and the Netherlands issued a joint statement calling the ICC's attitude "disappointing and disrespectful" over late changes to the 2027 ODI World Cup format.
Italy is launching a city-based T10 franchise league in Rome. A properly managed domestic competition could be exactly what growing cricket nations need.
Only two cricketers made Time's list of the 100 most influential people in sport. Faisal Hasnain investigates whether cricket's claim as the world's second largest sport holds up.
Faisal Estane congratulates Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Ireland on joining the ICC World Test Championship, calling it the right move for Test cricket.
A video game company sells millions of copies built around a cricketer's face and style, without asking or paying them. That scenario explains exactly why athletes fight to protect their image rights.
