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I often see the cricket team squads for a tournament/series contain 15 players. From those 15, playing eleven would be sorted for each match.

But, for the India's tour of South Africa 2013, Indian team has 16 players in ODI squad and 17 players for test matches.

I would like to know if there are any limitations on the squad size for international cricket match series? (i.e. a maximum and minimum count).

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    Good question. I think the squad size is decided by mutual agreement between the two boards. I vaguely recall during India's tour to WI in 1997, when Sachin was the captain, they initially had 16 players, but then he requested the BCCI to send an additional player when someone was sick, and then the BCCI took WICB's approval and then sent the 17th player. Didn't find any official source though. For ICC events like World Cup, this is obviously decided by the ICC.
    – Masked Man
    Dec 1, 2013 at 15:12
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    @Happy, after fixing a squad, if a team needs an another player(as in your pointed example), then there is a need of mutual agreement between two cricket board. Is there any fixed squad size for a team while selecting the players for the series?
    – Azik Abdullah
    Dec 2, 2013 at 9:59
  • I am guessing that's also by mutual agreement. Another possibility is if the squad consists of upto 16 members, they don't bother on an explicit agreement, but if they need more than 16, then an agreement is required. For instance, if a visiting team comes with only 14 players, the home board wouldn't probably be bothered.
    – Masked Man
    Dec 2, 2013 at 14:51

2 Answers 2

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According to the official ICC Squad Registration Form, there can be a maximum of 18 players in an squad in both Men's and Women's Cricket.

ICC Squad Registration Form - Men's Cricket

ICC Squad Registration Form - Women's Cricket

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  • Just because the registration form has 18 spots on it doesn't necessarily mean that the rules forbid more than 18 players, does it?
    – Ben Miller
    Mar 19, 2014 at 20:13
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    @BenMiller Yes, you are correct but that's the only official information available in this regard.
    – Animesh
    Mar 20, 2014 at 14:25
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For an ICC tournament, the squad size, as well as the date it must be submitted by, are fixed. Look at the rules for the specific tournament for the allowed squad size.

For a bilateral tour, squads can be as small or large as the teams like. For the first ever Eng/Aus tour, England sailed over with only 12 men, one of whom caught a STD early in the tour leaving the squad with only the bare eleven. Modern touring squads are much larger and often have the 'A'-team touring nearby to provide even more cricketers in case of injury.

Home squads are effectivly unlimited in size. While home teams often name a 12-man squad a day or two before the game, there is nothing stopping the home coach from naming a 12 man squad but, 30 minutes before the match starts, going down the nearby pub and grabbing eleven locals to play.

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    Welcome to SE.Sport. The answer is interesting when you are able to add any official references
    – Ale
    Jul 17, 2017 at 15:18

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