USA Cricket secures bankruptcy court approval for ACE settlement

The United States Bankruptcy Court has approved a settlement between USA Cricket and American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), unlocking more than $1.1 million in funding and ending years of legal conflict that had brought the governing body to a standstill. The ruling gives USA Cricket its clearest path yet to emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reclaiming its ICC membership.

At its core, the deal restores the commercial partnership between USA Cricket and ACE under their 2019 Term Sheet. ACE will provide $480,000 in post-petition financing to fund operations through the bankruptcy process, contribute $340,000 towards administrative and unsecured claims, offer exit financing to support USA Cricket’s emergence from bankruptcy, and withdraw its $150 million proof of claim against the governing body.

How did USA Cricket and ACE end up in court?

The roots of the dispute stretch back several years of boardroom conflict, primarily involving former USA Cricket chairman Venu Pisike, fellow director Srinivas Salver and ACE over the structure of their long-form commercial agreement. Despite Pisike himself being part of the board that approved the original 2019 deal, years of friction followed over the governance of both the agreement and USA Cricket itself. The governing body eventually attempted to terminate the ACE agreement in September 2025, a move ACE immediately challenged as unlawful.

The ICC suspended USA Cricket on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, after issuing repeated warnings over governance failures, persistent internal conflicts and an inability to meet administrative standards expected of a national governing body. The situation escalated further when the American cricket board filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, just before a scheduled state court hearing with ACE. By Monday, January 12, 2026, a bankruptcy judge appointed a Chapter 11 trustee after revoking USA Cricket’s Subchapter V status, effectively removing the board’s authority entirely.

What did the court approve?

Seven separate objections were filed against the proposed settlement, including from the National Cricket League, Venu Pisike, former executive secretary Anj Balusu, Srinivas Salver and former USA Cricket counsel Sesha Kalapatapu. Judge Michael E. Romero overruled all of them, determining that the settlement fell within the range of reasonableness required under bankruptcy law and rejecting the claim that it constituted an improper reorganisation plan. The court also allowed USA Cricket to assume the 2019 Term Sheet with ACE.

“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,” MLC CEO Johnny Grave said as quoted by Cricinfo.

What happens next for USA Cricket?

Attention now turns to the ICC and the court-appointed trustee as they look to rebuild American cricket’s governance. The ICC is expected to play a central role in appointing leadership under a transitional model anchored by independent directors, with full elections deferred until after cricket’s return to the Olympic stage at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The court approval also came a day after ACE, the owners of MLC, delivered the new Los Angeles cricket venue that will serve as an Olympic cricket ground at LA28.

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