Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Speed will work together for the sale of ICC's media rights © AFP

The ICC has announced that it will begin the process of selling the commercial, sponsorship and audio-visual rights for 18 ICC tournaments starting from the second half of 2007 till the World Cup in 2015.

This period covers the 2011 World Cup in Asia, the ICC Champions Trophy, the Twenty20 Championship, World Cup qualifiers, Under-19 World Cup and the Women's World Cup.

The ICC will issue the tender documents to broadcasters, agencies and persons qualified to bid for the rights, and will begin discussions shortly. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, will lead the discussions, along with Ehsan Mani, the former ICC president, who will act as a consultant. Mani negotiated the previous agreement, which ends with the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Speed said the initial discussion began in April, when the ICC allotted the countries hosting the various forthcoming events. "With those venues and the timings for the tournaments agreed, we are now in a position to go to market to obtain the best deal for cricket," Speed was quoted as saying in a media release. "The sale of these rights is of huge significance for cricket throughout the world at all levels as the revenue it generates will play a pivotal role in sustaining and growing the game.

"I am delighted Ehsan has agreed to act as a consultant with us in this process as he played a significant role in securing the previous agreement and his experience and expertise in this area is certain to be invaluable."