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Jay Shah has been unopposedly elected as the new International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman following a 5-year long stint as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary. He becomes the youngest incumbent for the position of Independent Chair of the ICC at the age of 35. He will be taking over the office starting on December 1 as the successor of Greg Barclay who recently resigned from the designation.
In 2009, Jay Shah was appointed to the Central Board of Cricket's executive committee for the first time. Shah then became the Gujarat Cricket Association's Joint Secretary. Aside from this, during that time his dad Amit Shah was the Leader of GCA. Shah first got into BCCI in the year 2015 when he became a member of the Finance and Marketing Committee. When he joined BCCI, he left his post at Gujarat Cricket Affiliation. In the year 2019, Jay Shah became the Secretary of BCCI. He was again elected as the BCCI Secretary in 2022. Jay Shah was appointed President of the Asian Cricket Council in January 2021. In the year 2024, Shah was re-elected to this position as well.
Let's have a look at three challenges in front of Jay Shah as the new ICC Chairman
Champions Trophy 2025
The biggest challenge before Shah will be to organize the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. As President of the Asian Cricket Council, Shah was a big supporter of the hybrid model, under which Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-hosted the Asia Cup ODI event in the year 2023. It remains to be seen how ICC Chairman Shah handles this matter. Because the Indian government will most likely now allow the team to travel to Pakistan. It is believed that once again 'hybrid model' can be the solution because Pakistan will play its matches at home and will play against India in Dubai.
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2028 Olympic Games
Another important challenge is to promote cricket in the Olympics as it will start in Los Angeles in 2028. How Jay Shah introduces cricket in the Olympic Games will depend on his planning. Apart from this, how many teams will play, what will be the format and how will the tournament end? This will be the biggest challenge before Jai Shah. Everyone knows cricket but this game is not played in many countries. Jai Shah while talking about cricket in the Olympics said "The inclusion of our sport in the Olympics at LA 2028 represents a significant inflection point for the growth of cricket, and I am confident that it will drive the sport forward in unprecedented ways."
Promotion of cricket as a global sport
Jay Shah promoted women's cricket in India while being the Secretary of BCCI. At the same time, he also changed domestic cricket so that now every player will play in domestic also. He has also announced that the players will be given prize money in domestic. Apart from this, saving Test cricket is also the biggest challenge before them. Due to T20 cricket, people's interest in Test cricket has reduced. Hence, Shah will have to keep an eye on what changes in this format will save it. At the same time, how cricket can be promoted at a global level will also be a part of Shah's planning. He will also keep an eye on the players' earnings, traveling, and everything during ICC events. Apart from this, how to attract youth to this sport is also included in his agenda.
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