Jay Shah has been elected as the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman after his 5-year long stint as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary. He will be taking over the office from Greg Barclay who recently resigned from the designation, on December 1. Barclay has been on the designation since 2020. Shah also spoke about his goals and said he wants to introduce cricket's marquee events to new global markets. He eyes to make the sport more popular than ever.
Shah's first statement after becoming ICC Chairman
"I am humbled by the nomination as the Chair of the International Cricket Council. I am committed to working closely with the ICC team and our member nations to further globalize cricket. We stand at a critical juncture where it is increasingly important to balance the coexistence of multiple formats, promote the adoption of advanced technologies, and introduce our marquee events to new global markets. Our goal is to make cricket more inclusive and popular than ever before," said Jay Shah on becoming ICC Chairman.
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"While we will build on the valuable lessons learned, we must also embrace fresh thinking and innovation to elevate the love for cricket worldwide. 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," he added.
Shah will become the fifth Indian who has held the post of ICC head or chairman and joined the list with Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar.
“Jay Shah has been elected unopposed as the next Independent Chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Shah, who has served as the BCCI Honorary Secretary since October 2019 and Chair of the Asian Cricket Council since January 2021, will assume this prestigious role on December 1, 2024. Shah was the sole nominee for the chairmanship after current Chair Greg Barclay decided not to seek a third term,” said ICC in their official statement.
Jay Shah's career
Jay Shah first became the executive member of the Central Board of Cricket in the year 2009. After this Shah became the Joint Secretary of Gujarat Cricket Association. While holding this post, Jai Shah also oversaw the work of Narendra Modi Stadium and remained completely focused on it till it was completely built. Apart from this, during that time his father Amit Shah was the President of GCA.
Shah's entry into BCCI took place in the year 2015 when he became a member of the Finance and Marketing Committee. As soon as he joined BCCI, he left his post at Gujarat Cricket Association. In the year 2019, Jay Shah became the Secretary of BCCI and since then Indian cricket has completely changed. In the year 2022, he was re-elected, and he again got the post of Secretary of BCCI. In January 2021, Jay Shah was made the President of the Asian Cricket Council. Shah was again elected to this post in the year 2024.
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