In short, the report, which has been put together by management consulting firm McKinsey & Co, is set to highlight a lot of what the committee already knows. Without change, cricket will continue deeper into its current structural mess – where massive power and wealth imbalances are leading to an increasingly fragmented global game. Only this time, with ICC and individual national governing bodies’ coffers set to take a hit with a new round of broadcast deal negotiations, there’s an added urgency to make real change.

Cricket’s current revenue structure is complex, and it relies heavily on income from broadcast deals. Indian broadcast rights alone – IPL, international and domestic cricket – make-up around 75 per cent of the ICC’s media rights value. JioHotstar paid $3 billion for the broadcast rights to the IPL for 2024-27, and a further $720 million for digital and TV rights for international and domestic cricket in India from 2023-28. It’s been widely predicted that media rights for the IPL will either plateau or fall for the next cycle, and rights value for international cricket are also of concern.

Speaking to Wisden, Deputy Chair of the ICC and chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, Tavengwa Mukuhlani outlined to board’s concern over falling broadcast rights revenue. “It’s important for everyone to start thinking of other revenue streams outside broadcasting,” he said. “That’s one thing that the ICC will need to assist with to make sure that we are not entirely reliant on broadcasting revenue, and we are increasing our revenue streams, because the reality is that that space has significantly shrunk.

“We may not be able to get the same number that we got last time if we go to the market. So much as we might want an increase or better distribution, I think it’s incumbent on every single board to start thinking of how to manage a reduced amount going forward as well.”

The ICC’s financial model is particularly exposed to the Indian market. Should those broadcast deals go down in worth, the revenue distribution pool which most member boards rely on, would shrink. Individual boards would receive less money, on top of shrinking media rights worth for hosting their own domestic and international cricket.

As the single biggest contributor, India receive a 38.5 per cent share of all ICC income, while Bangladesh for example, receive a 4.46 per cent share. Any reduction for those who already receive little, including Associates who share 11.19 per cent between all 99 of them, will hit hard. Last year, CricBuzz reported the contents of a Cricket Netherlands internal document, which revealed the ICC had warned of a 30 per cent revenue decrease in 2028 after the renewal of media contracts.

The consequences of that decreasing revenue pool will be felt beyond the smaller ICC members. It was reported in the Guardian this week that the ECB are forecasting losses of up to £50 million next year, despite hosting the Ashes. A contributing factor to that is the decision from the ICC to withhold a portion of the broadcast payments it makes to its members, in part to prevent a sharp drop off after the Indian broadcast deals are renegotiated. Nevertheless, that an Ashes summer cannot be turned into a money-spinner is a significant concern for the ECB, and shows the increasing reliance on India tours to make any money at all.

Bilateral international cricket between all ICC Full and Associate members apart from India, and historically England and Australia, is already in many cases a sunk cost rather than a money spinner. Between those countries, bilateral international cricket generates less than four per cent of global cricket’s combined revenue. The long and the short of all the numbers is that the vast majority of international cricket played isn’t profitable, and shrinking broadcast values make the consequences of that worse.

The BCB attempted to package together the rights for their home international cricket in the 2026-27 season, which included a white-ball series against India. With that India tour still yet to be scheduled, the board was forced to unpackage those rights, and reportedly struggled to find a broadcaster to sell their two Test match series against West Indies to. The BCB have reportedly suffered losses in seven of the nine home series they hosted between 2022 and 2025, with only tours from England and India making profits.

To put it all together, there’s now an urgency to the inequalities in cricket’s financial model. Even with boards reliant on India tours to make money, if Indian broadcast rights revenues shrink, those tours will become harder to make as much money from as has been possible in the past.

In short, decreases in the value of broadcast rights would likely plunge bilateral international cricket into further peril. Hence the actual importance of the ICC’s meeting in Bali, and which recommendations in the McKinsey report the governing body chooses to adopt. However, the power imbalances in the ICC’s structure mean making any collective change tricky.

Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Business Report podcast, Paul Marsh, who co-authored a report from the WCA last year on the structure of the global game, highlighted both the extent to which cricket’s current model impedes its financial growth, and the difficulties the structure of the ICC presents in fixing it.

"Cricket should be the second-biggest sport in the world behind football, but it’s not,” says Marsh. “The opportunity is there for growth, and cricket has a lot of good things going for it. But at the moment, the schedule, which is at the core of this, is a shambles, and we’re not maximising the opportunities that we could."

"At the moment, cricket has some serious issues at its core, which is the governance of the game. There is no one who’s actually looking after the best interests of the game. The ICC, by its own admission, is a members’ organisation, and therefore the members make decisions based on their own interests, and I think that’s where a lot of the issues are coming from. The big three countries are constantly making decisions for the benefit of the big three countries, and as a result of that we’re seeing the countries beneath that are slipping further and further away.”

The most powerful governing bodies in international cricket are fast approaching a point of active choice over what they are prepared to do for cricket’s future. Plans for a World Club Championship to provide an extra international competition have already been shelved, and the BCCI, ECB and CA are reportedly resisting attempts of more triangular and quadrangular series, citing the already cluttered calendar. A complete restructure of the global game to make international cricket more profitable would also face strong resistance from the Big Three against the ICC having more control over bilateral cricket, rather than allowing individuals to master their own profits.

Cricket has long pushed the warning signs of financial distress down the road, ignoring the ever increasing warning sirens from those without the power to force change through. Now, however, those with that power are hearing those claxons too, even if they can’t agree on what to do about them.

Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.