The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched its new official digital collectibles program, Crictos, in partnership with FanCraze.

The program will be the only opportunity for fans and investors to own NFTs from ICC events, with the first pack expected to drop via FanCraze in mid-January.

The first pack drop will be a ‘closed beta’ launch according to the ICC, with a limited number of fans invited to participate following a random draw of fans who have pre-registered.

Each pack of the collection will contain between three to five Crictos of varying rarities, with fans purchasing packs able to see the probability of what tier of NFTs are in specific packs before purchasing.

The initial release will include highlight packages from the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.

ICC head of digital, Finn Bradshaw, said: “We are delighted to unveil Crictos today and are excited for our first pack drop later this month.”

“Just as physical memorabilia has been a centrepiece of fandom for decades, we hope Crictos will become a digital record of fans’ love of the game.

“There is something for every fan with a range of rarities of Crictos with an entry pack costing $9.

“Our first Crictos pack drop will be available later this month for pre-registered fans before a full launch later this year.

“It’s a unique opportunity to own and be part of historic moments in cricket and Crictos is the only way to collect match-defining plays from the ICC events archive,” Bradshaw said.

FanCraze CEO, Anshum Bhambri, said: “Crictos builds off the key features of physical trading cards by adding digital elements like video highlights, 3D animations, a wider array of player statistics, and meta-data that make the Crictos usable across a wide array of applications.”

“Cricket fans today are digitally native and building new fan engagement and social experiences is what excites us at FanCraze,” Bhambri said.