The International Cricket Council (ICC) has a tradition of hosting an annual conference. In the current year, the annual ICC conference took place on 20 July 2025 in Singapore. Apart from addressing all the other issues, they announced the addition of two new members: the Zambia Cricket Union and the Timor-Leste Cricket Federation.
ICC has full members and associate members as its type of membership structure, and with the recent decision, the total number of members is 110, with 12 full and 98 associate members. This has been criticised as the full members receive the bulk of the ICC revenues.
Being so, associate members have no chance to promote the sport. The council is not wrong about this format since financial stability is considered among the important criteria to be a full ICC member.
ICC Makes History: 2 New Teams Officially Join the World of Cricket
The Zambia Cricket Union and the Timor-Leste Cricket Federation are the two new teams that have officially joined the world of cricket. It seems obvious that this is the first time the federations are joining the cricket world on a huge platform. However, that is not the case. Previously, Zambia was one of the associate members, but they were suspended in 2019 due to governance issues.
A Historic Day for World Cricket
By including two new members, the International Cricket Council has extended its membership and the sight of cricket into two new countries. It hence opens two new regions for cricket competitions–a few steps towards globalising the game and generating demand for it. It also takes pride in reinstating the Zambia Cricket Union into its former status after suspension in 2019.
Which Two Teams Got ICC Recognition?
The two teams that have been recognised by ICC are Zambia from Southern Africa and Timor‑Leste from Southeast Asia. Their cricket boards have followed all the criteria of being accepted as associate members. The ICC recognised their efforts, acknowledging them by giving them membership.
It is the first time that Timor-Leste has been recognised, but Zambia was already a part of the ICC. They were suspended from the organisation for “continued non-compliance” in 2019. Zambia has been welcomed back after correcting its errors.
When Will They Start Playing?
Being added as associate members makes the teams eligible to participate in T20 International games and World Cup qualifiers. Timor-Leste will be participating in the Asia–East Asia Pacific (EAP) regional qualifiers for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup. The remaining fixtures are yet to be released, but the EAP qualifier matches in October 2025 have been confirmed. It will be their first T20I match after joining the ICC.
As for Zambia, they will also play in the T20 World Cup qualifer from the african region in the 2025 Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final. The remaining schedules and upcoming matches of the teams will be revealed at a later date.
Why ICC Took This Step Now?
The primary focus was to increase the reach of cricket into more countries. This will also create diversity alongside resurrecting the game in those other suspended countries. It will take cricket to every country and motivate more teams to reach their standards and become part of the ICC. With this, there will also be more teams participating in the Test and T20I formats.
How This Will Impact Global Cricket Rankings
In the first place, the teams are given the lowest ratings of 20-30 in ICC T20I Rankings as it is the time of initiation. Initially, due to the beginning spell of the teams, the global ranking will not be affected by Zambia and Timor-Leste. However, as they gradually start participating in ICC competitions and start winning matches, they get higher rankings and thus go higher in the rankings.
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The scheduled EAP and African qualifiers of the T20 World Cup will very well serve as an opportunity for both teams. Throughout, the process shall be slow; the only thing that can fast-track them is wins against high-ranking opponents.
Where Can Fans Watch These New Teams?
As the teams have joined the ICC, Zambia’s African qualifier and Timor-Leste’s EAP qualifier matches will stream on ICC.tv and can be watched globally on this platform. The Zambia fans can watch the ICC events and any competitions, including Zambia, on StarTimes Sports and SuperSport digital platforms.
As for Timor-Leste, their fans can watch them on the SandBrix OTT platform, which streams the matches of the Southeast Asian teams. In India, both these teams’ matches can be watched on JioHotsar or FanCode.
Final Thoughts: A New Chapter in Cricket Begins
With the start of a new season of this sport, these two teams will enter a new chapter. The granting of international status to these teams has globalised the game of cricket and has increased its geographical representation by including teams from Southeast Asian and Southern African regions.
Any international matches played by the two teams would be showcased this year. Their progress will surely make headlines from here on, and their progress will be etched into cricket history. Just by introducing two new teams, the competition level has been raised, as has the number of matches. This will also affect international and domestic cricket.