USA Cricket directors urge ICC to investigate organisation's collapse

USA Cricket's directors have requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene and expel a rival group of directors, including chairperson Venu Pisike following the collapse of the administrative body.

The elected directors Arjun Rao Gona and Kuljit Singh Nijjar have issued a statement in which they have requested the ICC to conduct a thorough forensic audit of the dealings. They have also asked the ICC to make the findings public.

"We call for immediate and decisive intervention not to punish, but to rebuild what has been broken. This is no longer a crisis of management; it is a test of integrity and courage," stated the statement, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. 

The decision for the financial restructure was taken by a set of five directors including Pisike, Srini Salver, David Haubert, Pintoo Shah and Anj Balusu. Four of the nine directors including Gona, Nijjar, Nadia Gruny and Atul Rai exited the meeting in protest.

Nijjar, Whittaker and Gona want the Normalisation Committee to assume full control of USAC on an immediate basis and also "go beyond administrative control and conduct a full, independent investigation into the root causes of USA Cricket's collapse, identifying every act of constitutional breach, misuse of authority, and conflict of interest."

The aforementioned trio has also suggested the ICC to protect players' rights and their future, pleading that they and USA cricket's supporters must not have to bear the consequences of poor leadership.  

"Conduct a full forensic audit of all financial transactions, contracts, appointments, and legal decisions taken under the current regime, and publish the findings to the public to restore trust, confidence and transparency. Safeguard players, competitions, and development programs during this transition, ensuring that athletes and fans do not suffer for failures of leadership," it added.