Overshooting its own budget is not the only fallout for the ICC from its recently concluded men's T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies. ESPNcricinfo understands that Disney-Star*, the ICC's broadcast partners, have raised concerns about the event, asking whether the ICC believes it delivered a product that justified the investment made in the rights, and whether better value overall can be derived from the rights deal.

Later in the tournament, the Trinidad surface for the semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan, where the latter was routed for 56 on a brutish pitch with excessive seam and uneven bounce, was also rated "unsatisfactory".

Through its various iterations, Disney-Star has held the the rights to every single ICC event since the 2011 men's ODI World Cup. Last year, Disney-Star acquired the rights to broadcast ICC events in the India market in a four-year deal worth just above USD 3 billion. Dissatisfaction from such a long-term broadcast partner is likely to be taken seriously, given the implications it has for all ICC members, who receive annual revenue derived from the rights deal. Most members, other than India, Australia and England, rely heavily on these revenues.

ESPNcricinfo understands that there were discussions within the ICC to swap the USA-West Indies event with either India in 2026 or England in 2028 in order to give the venues more time to get ready, but those discussions did not go far.

*Disney-Star and ESPNcricinfo are part of the Walt Disney Company.