The ICC Cricket Committee headed by former Indian captain Anil Kumble recommended changes to ICC regulations to mitigate the risks posed by the COVID-19 virus and protect the safety of players and match officials.
The Committee recommended the appointment of non-neutral umpires and referees to the international cricket along with the prohibition of saliva to shine the ball. The committee also recommended the use of technology to support the appointments of a wider pool of umpires from around the world.
The recommendations of the Cricket Committee will now be presented to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee in early June for approval.
As international travels are banned in several countries and also guidelines of the mandatory quarantine period, the committee recommended that the local match officials can be appointed in the brief term.
Since 2002, officials appointed by the ICC must not be from the same country as the participating teams.
The current regulations that apply to the appointment of match officials to men’s Test, ODI and T20I matches are summarised below:
| Match Referee | Field Umpire 1 | Field Umpire 2 | 3rd Umpire | 4th Umpire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | ICC | ICC | ICC | ICC | Host |
| ODI | ICC | ICC | Host | ICC | Host |
| T20I | ICC | Host | Host | Host | Host |
The committee had also purposed to increase the number for DRS review per innings for every format as an interim measure.
Presenting the recommendations ICC Cricket Committee Chair Anil Kumble said, “We are living through extraordinary times and the recommendations the Committee have made today are interim measures to enable us to safely resume cricket in a way that preserves the essence of our game whilst protecting everyone involved.”