By Admin 
How many countries play Cricket in the World: Cricket is the most popular sport in India and here cricket is considered like a religion. Cricket has now been included in the Olympics and is gradually increasing its popularity all over the world. Globally, cricket is played in more than 100 countries and the number of countries recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) is 110. This recognition is divided into three categories, which determine the eligibility of countries to play at the international level.
Category of ICC recognized countries
1- Full Member: They have the right to play all three formats of cricket (Test, ODI and T20 International) through ICC and these countries can vote in ICC meetings. Currently there are only 12 full member countries.
Names of full member countries: India, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ireland, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
2- Associate Member: Cricket is well established and organized in these countries, but they have not yet gained full membership. Currently there are a total of 98 associate member countries.
:- Some of these associate members are given the status to play ODI cricket and T20 International on the basis of their performance.
:- Example: There are many other associate members like Nepal, Oman, Namibia, Netherlands and Scotland.
:- Timor-Leste and Zambia were added as new associate members in July 2025, taking the total number of associate member countries to 110.
3- Affiliate Members: This category was abolished by the ICC in 2017 and all Affiliate members were given the status of Associate members.
Increasing popularity of cricket all over the world
1- Apart from the 110 ICC recognized member countries, cricket is also played informally in many places. This includes matches held at school, club and community level.
2- ICC also works through its regional bodies to promote cricket all over the world. These include Africa, America, Asia and Europe.
3- Emphasis is being given by ICC to promote women’s cricket and ICC has also given status to many women’s teams to play international cricket.