Jay Shah has started his tenure as the President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after serving as the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Jay Shah was elected unopposed as the President of the ICC in August this year. He is the youngest president to hold this post. The ICC gave this information on Sunday.
Took Over the Post in Place of Barclay
Jay Shah has replaced Greg Barclay, who was serving as ICC President since November 2020. In his first statement as ICC President, Shah focused on including cricket in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and prioritizing the development of women’s sports. Shah expressed his gratitude to outgoing ICC President Greg Barclay for his contribution over the last four years. Shah said, I would like to thank Greg Barclay for his leadership over the last four years and the achievements made during that period.
Fifth Indian to Become ICC President
Jay Shah is the fifth Indian to lead this global body. Before Shah, businessman late Jagmohan Dalmiya, politician Sharad Pawar, lawyer Shashank Manohar and industrialist N Srinivasan have been among the Indians to lead the world cricket body. 36-year-old Shah was working as BCCI secretary for the last five years. Jay Shah’s tenure will begin with challenges as the ICC needs to find an acceptable solution to implement a hybrid model for the Champions Trophy scheduled in Pakistan.
The Journey to Become an Administrator Started in 2009
Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah, began his journey to become a cricket administrator in 2009. He started working as an executive member of the Central Board of Cricket in Ahmedabad. After this, in September 2013, he became the joint secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) and worked with his father and the then GCA president.
How Did He Get Entry in BCCI?
It did not take much time for Shah to come to BCCI. He first became a member of the board’s finance and marketing committee in 2015 and then became the youngest secretary of the BCCI in October 2019. In his first term as BCCI secretary, he worked closely with Sourav Ganguly, while after that he started working with Roger Binny. Binny is currently the BCCI president. Shah’s biggest work as BCCI secretary was to sell the IPL media rights in 2022 for Rs 48390 crore for five years. This made the IPL the second most valued sporting league after the National Football League (NFL) on the basis of each match value.
Achievements of Jai Shah
- Jai Shah’s stature continued to grow and in 2019 he became the youngest secretary of the BCCI at the age of 31.
- His role in the BCCI was very important. Under him, Indian cricket took big steps and strengthened its position in the world.
- Jah Shah’s first major achievement as BCCI secretary was hosting India’s first day-test match against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November 2019.
- In 2020 and 2021, when the world was grappling with the deadly Kovid-19 pandemic. Shah ensured that the IPL remained afloat and foreign players could participate in it.
- The United Arab Emirates hosted the IPL in 2020, while the matches of the 2021 edition were held in India and the UAE.
- In October 2022, the BCCI implemented a pay parity policy for its contracted women cricketers. Rs 15 lakh for Test matches, Rs 6 lakh for ODI matches and Rs 3 lakh for T20 matches.
- The first season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) was also held last year when Shah was the secretary.
- During his tenure, the BCCI also struck a huge media rights deal worth Rs 48,390 crore for five years. This made the IPL the second most valuable league in the world in terms of value per match.
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Became ACC President Twice
Shah was not limited to BCCI only. He was appointed President of the Asia Cricket Council (ACC) in January 2021. In view of his leadership skills, Shah was once again given this responsibility in January this year. In November 2022, Shah became the head of the ICC’s powerful Finance and Commercial Affairs Sub-Committee. Shah also played an important role in getting cricket included in events like the Commonwealth Games.
