The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to turn its annual awards into a major in-person ceremony, modelled in profile on football's Ballon d'Or and the NFL Honors, when the awards return in 2027. Performances from the 2025 and 2026 seasons will be combined into a single cycle, after the governing body deliberately held back the 2025 edition while it rethought the platform.

From digital announcements to a live event

For a number of years the ICC has announced its award winners digitally and through social media. The new approach aims to change that, creating a broader and more meaningful celebration of the sport's leading players, teams and achievements. An ICC spokesperson told The Guardian that the organisation had held back the 2025 edition to rethink what the platform can and should look like, and that the awards will now return in 2027 treating 2025-26 as a single season.

What is still to be decided

Details of the ceremony's format, venue, categories and selection process have not yet been announced. That leaves open how a two-year cycle will be judged, and which performances across 2025 and 2026 will carry most weight when winners are chosen. The ambition, however, is clear: to give cricket an awards night with the stature of the biggest ceremonies in other sports, rather than online announcements.

A crowded calendar to navigate

The revamp comes as the ICC's wider calendar plans face pressure, with reports that a proposed global franchise-based Twenty20 tournament has been shelved after resistance from major boards and a packed Future Tours Programme for 2027 to 2031. Against that background, a single showcase awards evening may prove easier to stage than another tournament. Further details are expected from the ICC; see myKhel's report and Circle of Cricket's report.