The current BCCI Secretary Jay Shah is now elected unopposed as the new ICC chair and also became to youngest ICC chair at the age of 35. The ICC chair Jay Shah will start his tenure from December 1, 2024. The current ICC chair Greg Bracly will step down from the position in November.
Also Read | Wins and Misfortunes of India in Paris Olympics 2024 : Better Hopes in New Season
After being elected unopposed the current BCCI secretary
“ 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 other member nations to further globalize cricket.
Adding further he said “We stand at a critical point 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. While we build on the valuable lessons learned we must also embrace fresh thinking and innovation to elevate the love for cricket worldwide.”
He also 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.”
The ICC Board announced on August 20, 2024, that the Current ICC chair Greg Bracly would not continue as the ICC Chair for the Third term. The date to file nominations for the election of the new head of ICC was 27 August. The BCCI secretary came out as the only nominee for the ICC chair and was elected unopposed.
Jay Shah is the son of Amit Shah the Union Home Minister of India. Jay Shah has now become the fifth Indian after Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar to be the head of ICC.
Jay Shah’s Journey to ICC Chair
In 2009 Jay Shah started his journey with the Central Board of Cricket, Ahmedabad he worked as an executive with the Gujarat Cricket Association. In 2011, he became of marketing committee of BCCI, and in 2013 he came up as the Secretary of Gujarat Cricket Association and participated in the Annual General Board Meeting of BCCI and represented the state.
As the secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association he was at the forefront of revamping Motera stadium which came up as the world,s biggest stadium and in 2020 was the venue of the Namaste Trump event. The stadium was later renamed as Narendra Modi Stadium in the Name of the Indian Prime Minister.
In 2019 Jay Shah held the most powerful position not just in India, in all cricket he became the BCCI secretary in 2019 and was reelected unopposed in 2022. He came up in the list of most powerful cricket personalities leaving behind the legends of Indian cricket like Sachin, Dhoni, and Virat. The rise of Jay Shah in world cricket didn’t stop here in 2019 he was also elected as the president of the Asian Cricket Council. In 2022 he became a member of the Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee of ICC and became the Chairman of the committee.
Also Read | Shockingly Pramod Bhagat to miss Paris Paralympics, Suspended for 18 months
Jay Shah as BCCI secretary.
The regime of Jay Shah came as the most promising one for the future of Indian cricket and world cricket witnessed the boldness of the BCCI board during COVID-19. When everything was halted in the pandemic IPL (Indian Premier League) almost festival of cricket since 2008 first seemed impossible to hold in India IPL was discontinued in between due to the rising cases of COVID-19 but the ambition of Jay Shah didn’t halt and It got resumed and was held in UAE there were challenges associated with IPL being played due to its vast following but the 2020 IPL came out smoothly.
From bringing the Women’s Premier League into existence in 2022 to equal pay of match fees to women cricketers as to male cricketers came as some significant works of Jay Shah as a BCCI secretary.
About the Author
Devansh Das pursuing a bachelor’s in Journalism and Mass Communication from VIPS-TC. He writes on national issues and on issues that directly or indirectly concern the interest of the public.
