USA cricket
Judge approves settlement to restore USA cricket out of bankruptcy
bySmit Patel•
The ruling arrives at a significant moment for private cricket investment in the United States.© Getty
The ruling arrives at a significant moment for private cricket investment in the United States.©Getty
USA Cricket’s path out of bankruptcy is imminent after the United States Bankruptcy Court overruled seven separate objections filed by and approved a settlement with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE). The agreement finally brings to an end years of boardroom infighting, legal battles and an increasingly fractured commercial relationship that saw USA Cricket unsuccessfully attempt to terminate its landmark 2019 agreement with ACE. The order restores the parties’ commercial partnership under the Term Sheet and unlocks more than $1.1 million in funding to support the governing body’s emergence from Chapter 11.
At its core, the agreement provides USA Cricket with a much-needed financial lifeline. ACE will provide $480,000 in post-petition financing to fund operations through the Chapter 11 process, contribute $340,000 towards administrative and unsecured claims, provide exit financing to support the governing body’s emergence from bankruptcy and withdraw its $150 million proof of claim against USA Cricket. The package is aimed at stabilising the organization as it attempts to emerge from turbulence
While the courtroom battle reached its conclusion this week, the roots of the dispute stretch back several years. This was, in many ways, a historic tussle between former USA Cricket chairman Venu Pisike, fellow director Srinivas Salver and ACE over finalizing a long-form commercial agreement. Despite Pisike himself being part of the board that unanimously approved the original 2019 ACE deal, what followed was years of friction over the structure of not just the commercial agreement but the governance of USA Cricket itself.
The cost of the kerfuffle was borne by American cricket. The prolonged breakdown in the relationship between USA Cricket and its principal commercial partner left the governing body perpetually cash-strapped, limiting its ability to invest in its national teams and capitalize on the momentum generated by the USA men’s historic Super Eight run at the 2024 T20 World Cup. In the two years since that breakthrough campaign, USA Cricket has hosted just one bilateral T20I series against Nepal. Outside of its mandatory ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 commitments, it has not staged any other home international series in the last five years. At a time when several fellow Associate nations have regularly hosted Full Members and expanded their international calendars, American players were left with limited opportunities to showcase their talent.
The deteriorating financial and administrative landscape eventually culminated in September 2025, when the ICC suspended USA Cricket after issuing repeated warnings over the previous 12 months. Those warnings centered on governance failures, persistent internal conflicts, lack of structural clarity and an inability to meet the administrative standards expected of a national governing body
Amid tensions with the ICC, relations with ACE also reached breaking point. USA Cricket attempted to terminate the ACE agreement in September 2025, a move that ACE immediately challenged as unlawful. What followed added another dramatic twist. In October 2025, just hours before a scheduled hearing in the dispute, USA Cricket filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
The timing was significant. By filing for Chapter 11 just hours before its scheduled state court hearing with ACE, USAC appeared to be seeking a different legal route altogether. Instead of continuing a conventional contract fight over the Term Sheet, the governing body moved the dispute into bankruptcy court, where it could try to potentially weaken or even reject the commercial agreement that had become central to the dispute
That proposed path, however, was not without resistance. Seven separate objections were filed against the proposed settlement in May and the accompanying financing package by the National Cricket League, former USA Cricket chairman Venu Pisike, former executive secretary Anj Balusu, former director Srinivas Salver and former USA Cricket counsel Sesha Kalapatapu. Collectively, the objections challenged various aspects of the settlement, financing arrangement and assumption of the 2019 Term Sheet.
Following the hearing, Judge Michael E. Romero overruled the objections and approved both the settlement and financing motions. The court found that the settlement fell within the range of reasonableness required under bankruptcy law, rejected the argument that it amounted to an improper “sub rosa” reorganization plan, and allowed USA Cricket to assume the 2019 Term Sheet with ACE
The ruling also arrives at a significant moment for private cricket investment in the United States. Only a day after ACE, the owners of MLC, successfully delivered the new Los Angeles cricket venue that will also host cricket at the 2028 Olympics. The court’s approval of the settlement provides another shot in the arm for the private capital model that has underpinned the sport’s recent growth in America
“We are pleased that the Court has approved the settlement and financing arrangements. We recognize this has been a challenging period for everyone involved in U.S. cricket. Throughout this process, our objective has remained the same: to support the long-term future of cricket in the United States while ensuring that USA Cricket has a realistic pathway to emerge from bankruptcy and restore its membership with the ICC,” said Johnny Grave, CEO MLC
The focus now shifts firmly to the ICC and the trustee how they choose to rebuild the national governing body including restoring the ICC suspension. While nothing has been formally announced, indications continue to point towards a more controlled transitional model. The ICC is expected to play a central role in appointing leadership while overseeing a restructured governance framework. Rather than immediately restoring a fully elected board, the preference appears to be for a transitional structure anchored by independent directors before elections are eventually reintroduced after the Los Angeles Olympics.
The United States has long presented one of the ICC’s most complex governance challenges. The previous national governing body, the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), was ultimately terminated by the ICC after multiple suspensions. Its successor, USA Cricket, has since endured its own governance crises and administrative turmoil in what remains one of cricket’s most commercially attractive untapped markets
What is required is nothing short of a lasting solution to a cycle that has repeated itself too often. There have been many false dawns for cricket in America. With the settlement now surviving both bankruptcy scrutiny and multiple legal objections, USA Cricket finally has a clearer path towards rebuilding. Whether this proves to be the long-awaited reset will depend on whether the lessons of the past are finally translated into sustainable governance
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