‘World Game Will Flourish With Jay Shah As ICC Chairman’, Says Former India Captain Sunil Gavaskar
The International Cricket Council (ICC) officially announced Jay Shah as the new chairman of the world body. Shah, who has served as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary since October 2019 and chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) since January 2021, will assume the prestigious position on December 1, 2024.
Shah, who is the son of India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was the sole nominee for the chairmanship after current Chair Greg Barclay decided not to seek a third term, as per a media release by the ICC.
Congratulations to BCCI Honorary Secretary Mr. Jay Shah for being elected unopposed as the next Independent Chair of the International Cricket Council.@JayShah pic.twitter.com/sKZw4mdRvi
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 27, 2024
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was delighted that Jay Shah will be leading the world cricket body. “That’s wonderful news. All the ICC presidents from India have taken the game forward and brought more revenues for the ICC and with it for the other member countries. If one leaves political biases aside, one will agree that Jay Shah has taken massive steps for Indian cricket,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by TOI newspaper.
Gavaskar highlighted Jay Shah’s role in launching the Women’s Premier League (WPL), equalizing the fees for Indian women international cricketers with those of the men’s team, raising the pension for retired players, introducing incentives for availability in both Test and white-ball internationals and implementing prize money for domestic tournaments.
“He was mainly instrumental in getting the Women’s Premier League (WPL) off the ground, made the Indian women international cricketers’ fees on par with the Indian men’s team, increased the pension for retired cricketers, brought in incentives for being available for Test and white-ball internationals and introduced prize money for the domestic tournaments. The new state-of-the-art National Cricket Academy (NCA, in Bangalore) has also come about during his tenure,” he added.
“With all this in front of us, it won’t be a surprise if the world game flourishes even more during his term as the ICC chairman,” Gavaskar felt.
Jay Shah becomes the youngest person to lead the ICC. He also joins the likes of Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N. Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar as Indians who have led the ICC in the past
Shah’s election marks a new chapter for the ICC as it seeks to expand the game’s reach and continue its evolution on the global stage.
