The election for the next chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC) will reportedly be held in November this year. The incumbent Greg Barclay has been at the helm for four years now but is eligible for another term.
However, there are speculations that BCCI secretary Jay Shah could throw his hat in the ring and should he do so and succeed, he will become the youngest ever to hold the post.
Shah has himself not commented on whether he wants to contest the elections but there are reports he wants to bring in changes in the way ICC functions especially after the controversy over the organisation of the recent T20 World Cup co-hosted by the USA and Caribbean islands.
Shah has been involved in cricket administration since 2009 and has previously served as the joint secretary of Gujarat Cricket Association. He joined BCCI in 2015 and was elected board secretary in September 2019.
Recently, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar had praised Shah for the steps taken by the BCCI for the growth of cricket in India during his tenure.
“Many people criticize Jay Shah, focusing on his father’s political position rather than his contributions,” Gavaskar said.
“However, what Jay Shah has achieved—like bringing in the Women’s Premier League, ensuring equal pay for the Women’s team as the Men’s, increasing fees for IPL players, and significantly boosting incentives—is commendable. Unfortunately, some refuse to give him credit due to a political agenda.”
The ICC annual conference is scheduled to be held in Colombo later in July, and a timeline for the chairman’s election is likely to be formalized during the conference.
The report adds that should Shah be elected as chairman, he will serve as the chairman for three years, one more year as compared to two years earlier. However, he can only be re-elected once, in contrast to the possibility of being re-elected twice previously. Should Shah take over the ICC chairman post, the 35 year-old will become the youngest to do so.
The Gujarat-born Shah first entered cricket administration in 2009 and was once the joint secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA). In 2015, Shah joined the BCCI and four years later, in 2019, he was elected as the secretary of BCCI.
