Infighting between USA Cricket board members has intensified over the last few days, with allegations levied against chair, Venu Pisike, of unethical and unlawful behaviour.
The public mud-slinging between board members has escalated as the crisis has deepened. Over the last few months, the board: has terminated its agreement with its commercial partner, American Cricket Enterprise [ACE] – a consortium of over 100 investors who own Major League Cricket and fund US national team activities – been sued by ACE, been urged to resign by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, been suspended by the ICC, and declared bankruptcy. Amid this, the warring factions within the board have accused each other of lying, bypassing democratic processes, and blamed each other for the difficulties the board is facing.
Backstory
To keep it simple, think of the board as two factions. Chair, Pisike, and his allies on one side, as well as CEO Jonathan Atkeison, and independent director Kuljit-Singh Nijjar, with his allies, including Arun Gona and Atul Rai, on the other. For a bit of background, Nijjar and several other board members previously launched legal action against Pisike and other members of the board, alleging their removals from the board earlier this year were unlawful. They also alleged several other breaches of Colorado law against the board.
Despite both Nijjar and Gona later being reinstated to the board, they continued their lawsuit, condemning the decision not to reinstate Patricia Whittaker, co-filer of the lawsuit, in addition to them. A statement released by Nijjar and Gona at the time read: “Patricia Whittaker’s continued exclusion reflects not a procedural gap but a deliberate act of bias and institutional discrimination.”
ALSO READ: Lawsuits, lies and a bankrupt board – Cricket in the USA is engulfed in chaos
In June of this year, a Colorado judge denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. It has yet to be resolved, but its continuation means the board has been operating while several members have ongoing legal action against each other. Ongoing litigation is not an uncommon circumstance for the board to have to work under. In 2021, Pisike and fellow director Srini Salver brought legal action against five then-directors, which was later dismissed. There’s also a federal lawsuit pending against USA Cricket, which alleges racial discrimination and was brought by former executive Kirk Greaves.
“It has functioned poorly, if at all,” Nijjar told Wisden.com of working on the board during ongoing litigation. “The chair’s bloc treated the lawsuits as personal challenges rather than accountability mechanisms. Meetings became staged, minutes were falsified and board counsel was used to defend the majority’s illegal actions rather than serve the organisation.”
“It’s affected me over the last year,” Pisike told Wisden.com. “When certain members of the board started making these allegations. When people are not satisfied or have personal grudges and egos, it’s very common for them to make comments, and they do hurt. But that’s not stopping me, what’s hurting me is what’s hurting the organisation.”
The allegations against Pisike
I. Governance by mute
Accusations against Pisike cover a broad range of actions, ranging from questionable, to unethical, to unlawful. Most are also long-standing, and date back well over a year.
In July 2024, the directors who took legal action this year wrote a letter to the ICC, accusing members of the board including Pisike of financial mismanagement, conflict of interest violations, and harassment of board members. They allege that their removals were retaliatory, and that removing board members has been, according to Nijjar, “part of a consistent pattern that began from the very start of this administration.”
ALSO READ: 'Everything is at risk' – What the USA Cricket crisis means for the future of MLC and LA28
“The Chair and his close allies constructed and maintained a fixed voting bloc to dominate every decision of the board,” said Nijjar. “This bloc ensured that critical resolutions – ranging from committee appointments and contract revisions to constitutional interpretations – were predetermined and passed without genuine debate or consent.”
Nijjar has also long accused Pisike of muting disagreeing members in board meetings conducted over Zoom. One particular allegation concerns a meeting held earlier this month to discuss filing for bankruptcy.
“The meeting was not a legitimate process – it was a pre-scripted decision,” says Nijjar. “Dissenting voices were muted, votes were rushed, and no independent financial or legal briefing was provided. When I demanded transparency and proper governance procedure, I was denied the floor. That’s when I left the meeting in protest… The filing was done without full participation of all directors, and with clear intention to shield the majority from ongoing accountability.”
In response to the allegations of muting board members in that meeting, Pisike said: “Contrary to the claims, no director was denied the opportunity to participate. The individual making these allegations chose to leave the meeting after objecting to the agenda and did not take part in the formal discussion or vote.
“Unfortunately, a few Board members frequently disrupt meetings by interrupting others, raising their voices, and making unfounded accusations, which prevents constructive discussion. On the advice of our legal counsel and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), we have used the mute function in virtual meetings for the past year to maintain order, ensure meetings stay on topic, and allow every member a fair opportunity to speak. The mute option is applied only to manage disruptions, not to silence any director’s views.”
II. Election interference
Among the most serious allegations levied against Pisike and other board members involve both interference in and refusal to hold board elections. USA Cricket board elections have a long history of disruption. The lawsuit Pisike brought in 2021 alleged improper electoral procedures, and by the time the issue was settled, both the CEO at the time Ian Higgins, and board chair Paraag Marathe, had resigned, and elections were delayed for over a year.
An email from sitting board director Atul Rai circulated earlier this week alleges election interference by Pisike, including manipulation of voter rolls in 2023. These claims date back to the lawsuit filed against Pisike and other board members earlier this year.
ALSO READ: ‘It’s going to take decades’ – 275 years on, can cricket finally crack the USA?
“The greatest barrier to lawful and democratic elections has been the systematic attempt to predetermine the outcome long before any ballots are cast,” says Nijjar. “We have credible information, already submitted confidentially to oversight authorities, showing that certain individuals within the current leadership have been orchestrating elections in advance identifying who will run, who will win, and who will be excluded. This was not democracy in preparation; it was democracy in disguise.”
Responding to those allegations, Pisike says: “It’s very unethical for somebody to say that. The NGC [Nominating and Governance Committee – a separate body from USA Cricket which oversees its election process] is an independent organisation and nobody has access to them. They always operate independently and the CEO works directly with them.
“Honestly, the suspension happened in the middle of the elections, and the candidates haven’t been announced yet. I don’t know who’s running, for me to interfere in elections, it’s totally unfair for someone to say that.”
III. Personal conduct, and the ACE deal
Amid the legal back and forth, so much of the dispute shows dislike, broken trust and personal animosity. Beyond the courts, it feels like this is going to be what hampers USA Cricket’s recovery from the the position they now find themselves in.
“His [Pisike’s] conduct has been authoritarian, unconstitutional, and personally motivated, leaving many of us mentally and emotionally exhausted,” says Nijjar. “What should have been a professional environment dedicated to developing American cricket became a place of constant pressure, fear, and humiliation for anyone who dared to uphold integrity.”
“We also witnessed acts of unethical behavior that are so serious and disappointing that we have chosen not to reveal them publicly because doing so could shake public trust in the very sport we are trying to protect.”
Asked why members of his own board harbour such a personal dislike of him, and why they have made what he calls “totally incorrect” allegations, Pisike blamed “personal egos,” and “immature unprofessionalism”. He was also at pains to get across what he sees as at the heart of all of the noise, the now terminated agreement between ACE and USA Cricket.
“I’m being targeted because they want to somehow change the leadership on the board so they can take control back and reinstate the ACE contract,” he says. “That’s all this is. It’s been said by some of the ACE investors in the community that they’re going to take back control of the board and reinstate the contract. People with conflicts of interest are trying to interfere and damage the organisation.”
The contract in question gave ACE a 50-year license to host a T20 league in the US, Major League Cricket, as well as exclusive commercial rights to the US national team. Under the terms of the contract, they also were obliged to develop a high-performance centre, and provide funding for national team activities. The deal has long been a sticking point for Pisike, who has repeatedly called it “totally one-sided” and alleged that ACE have failed to meet several of their obligations, something ACE refutes.
Nijjar’s faction has accused Pisike of sabotaging the ACE deal in order to further his personal control, rather than acting in the national interest. Pisike has accused Nijjar’s faction of acting alongside ACE to “bring down” USA Cricket.
Last week, USA Cricket released a statement, which accused ACE of both threatening players seeking to participate in USA Cricket-sanctioned non-MLC leagues, and attempting “to influence directors by promising team ownership or roles in their associated leagues”. That amounts to bribery. ACE strongly refutes those claims.
“Personally, I was never approached or promised anything by ACE or its associates,” says Nijjar. “What I did see was the Chair’s faction weaponizing such narratives, while simultaneously engaging in non-transparent communication with ACE to advance their own control. The allegation itself was used as political theater to shift focus from internal manipulation.”
Nijjar also alleges Pisike’s block of using bankruptcy procedures to “pause investigations, silence lawsuits, and delay audits”. He alleges that USA Cricket filed for bankruptcy earlier this month as an act of “concealment”, given that filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the USA bankruptcy code puts an automatic stay on legal proceedings. A case ACE had brought against USA Cricket for wrongful termination of their agreement had been due to get underway shortly after the filing. It’s the only allegation Pisike doesn’t explicitly deny, although he puts it differently.
“With the [ICC] suspension and our funding sources cut, we wanted to consolidate all of this so we can support fighting these litigations in a civil court and consolidate and resolve our financial issues, as well as work with the ICC,” he says. “The legal advice was that the best solution was to file for bankruptcy, and it doesn’t mean the litigation is going away, it means it’s being brought under one single judge, which is affordable for us to be in one court. Filing [for bankruptcy] isn’t a crime.”
Self-sabotage – The USOPC, ICC and USAC
One of the most pivotal points for triggering ICC suspension has been USA Cricket’s continued failure to gain National Governing Body status from the USOPC. Without that status, USA Cricket cannot submit a team for the LA28 Olympics or be involved in the cricket event. As for the reasons behind the failure to gain the backing of the USOPC, unsurprisingly, both factions blame each other.
“On paper, we meet all of the eligibility requirements,” says Pisike. “But because of the dysfunctional actions of certain members writing emails to the USOPC every single day, that’s caused their disappointment.”
ALSO READ: Explained – What ICC's suspension of USAC means for cricket at LA28 Olympics
Nijjar’s take is: “The USOPC gave USA Cricket a genuine opportunity to reform. They clearly outlined every concern and offered guidance urging the board to restore constitutional order, transparency, and independence. But rather than treating USOPC’s feedback as a roadmap for progress, they [Pisike and allies] turned it into a checklist of what to defy. When warned not to interfere in daily operations, they doubled their interference. When told to reform governance, they expanded unconstitutional committees. When advised to uphold transparency, they deepened secrecy.
“The individuals responsible for this negligence and misconduct should not simply walk away unaccountable. Their actions must be thoroughly investigated and held to public and legal scrutiny. Recognition is not just delayed, it has been stolen from an entire generation of American cricketers, all because those in power placed their personal interests above the future of the game.”
Earlier this year, senior governance advisor to the USOPC, David Patterson, urged the USA Cricket board to step down, stating that a fresh start was “the only effective way forward” for USA Cricket. The ICC seconded this in July, and set out a roadmap for USA Cricket in order to put them on the right track to gain NGB certification. Two months later, the ICC suspended USA Cricket.
Pisike’s own term as chair is theoretically up at the end of this month, after which he will be ineligible to run again. He explains that rather than resign, he put to the ICC that 90 per cent of the board would either be up for re-election, or out of term at the same time, meaning fresh elections could take place.
“I’ve committed to the responsibility I took over three years ago,” says Pisike. “Even the ICC is very keen on the USA’s progress in cricket, it’s just that the internal disputes, people not having any accountability to resolve them internally, just working for their personal interests, is really hurting the organisation.
“We continue to be one of the top associate nations and cricket is doing phenomenally in all areas; men, women, U19s, and we are playing in so many World Cups. In that way, it’s been proven that the organisation is functioning and we’re growing the sport in this country.”
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
