Jay Shah beats Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma in 100 most powerful Indians list of The Indian Express

Express described Shah as “easily the most powerful man in world cricket.” Shah launched the Women’s Premier League last year and led the way in successfully conducting the ODI World Cup. He was also instrumental in taking cricket to the Olympics.

“Already the youngest Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief, he is in line to become the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman. Shah played a big role in the BCCI’s share of ICC’s revenues nearly doubling – from 22.8 per cent to 38.5 per cent. This means the BCCI will now get $231 million annually from the international body. The BCCI secretary also got his way during last year’s Asia Cup, refusing to allow India to travel to Pakistan and forcing the hosts to travel to a neutral venue to play India. Shah has unprecedented control over the BCCI that was once known for its intense power struggles and factional fighting,” Express added.

Among sportspersons, former India captain Kohli was the highest-ranked. “He is no longer the Indian captain nor an important decision-maker but there is no bigger name in Indian cricket than Virat Kohli,” Express said.

Kohli did not take part in the India vs England Test series due to personal reasons. The cricketer and his Bollywood actor wife, Anushka Sharma welcomed their second child, a boy (named Aakay) a couple of weeks ago. Kohli is set to return to action for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2024.