There was a lot of discussion recently regarding the possible problem between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and JioStar, but both the parties have now made things very clear. There are rumors that ICC and JioStar’s four-year India media rights agreement will end suddenly.
The discussion began when a report in The Economic Times claimed that JioStar had told the ICC that it could not complete the remaining two years of its media-rights deal in India.
Had this happened, the governing body would have had to find a new broadcaster for major ICC tournaments, including the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
However, both ICC and JioStar have said that these reports are not true. They have confirmed that their media rights deal is still active and in full force.
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The Agreement has not been canceled or changed in any way. Both sides have also assured that cricket fans in India will continue to get smooth and uninterrupted coverage of all ICC events.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) and JioStar have noted recent media reports regarding the status of the ICC’s media rights agreement in India. These reports do not reflect the position of either organization,” the ICC and JioStar said in a joint statement.
The existing agreement between ICC and JioStar remains in full force, and JioStar continues as the official media rights partner of ICC in India. Any suggestion that JioStar has withdrawn from the agreement is false.
JioStar is fully committed to honoring its contract with ICC
The statement further read: “GioStar is fully committed to fulfilling its contractual obligations in letter and spirit. Both organizations are focused on delivering seamless, world-class coverage of upcoming ICC events to fans across India, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, one of the sport’s most anticipated global tournaments.
Preparations for these events are going exactly as planned, and there will be no impact on audiences, advertisers or industry partners. The ICC and JioStar, as long-term commercial partners, maintain regular communications on operational, commercial and strategic matters focused on the partnership’s role in growing the game.
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JioStar was formed after the merger of Reliance Industries’ media business with the Indian operations of global entertainment company Walt Disney. Prior to this merger, Disney had won ICC media rights for the period 2024 to 2027 in 2022 in a deal worth more than $3 billion.
ICC reveals Europe’s path to 2028 T20 World Cup
Additionally, the ICC has announced how teams from Europe can begin their journey to qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup. As part of this process, the ICC will hold three sub-regional qualification tournaments next year.
These tournaments will be held in Cyprus, Denmark and Finland. A total of 30 European teams will participate in these qualification events in 2026. This will be the first step for them in their bid to make it to the T20 World Cup, which will be played in Australia and New Zealand in 2028.
The ICC will announce the full match schedule, venues and match timings after the conclusion of the 2026 T20 World Cup in March next year.