Jay Shah has been elected ICC Chairman unopposed and will replace Greg Barclay at the top position who held the post for two consecutive terms over the last four years. Barclay had already confirmed that he wouldn't seek the third term and the remaining 15 board members in the International Cricket Council (ICC) had until August 27 to file nominations for the next chair. But Shah was the only one to do so and no other member stood up against him in the election process.
The moment the deadline passed, with no opposition, ICC confirmed its next chairman as Jay Shah whose tenure at the position will start from December 1. As far as the election process is concerned, out of a total of 16 members in the ICC board, a candidate is required to secure nine votes to get a majority. Shah got the backing from 15 board members while it is still not known who was the 16th member to not back him.
But with so much backing, there was no need for an election and for the first time, the ICC board was strongly united in support of a single director. At 35, Jay Shah, when he takes over the post, will become the youngest ICC Chairman ever. Here we dissect a few reasons behind Jay Shah being elected unopposed for the top position of the world governing body.
Jay Shah was appointed the BCCI secretary in October 2019 and since then he has taken a few landmark decisions in the greater interest of Indian cricket. One of his biggest achievements was navigating the challenging COVID period in 2020 and 2021 when the world came to a standstill. But cricket in India, at domestic and international level, continued. In fact, two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) were successfully conducted under the watchful eyes of Jay Shah in a strict bio-secure bubble.
With COVID still prevailing, Jay Shah also made sure that the T20 World Cup 2021 was held in the UAE with the BCCI retaining the hosting rights. He also delivered arguably the most successful ODI World Cup at home last year where India reached the summit clash only to lose to Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Jay Shah's other major achievement during his tenure was the landmark decision to announce and successfully launch the Women's Premier League (WPL) while ensuring the franchise and media rights were sold as per their value. A total of five franchises in WPL were sold for Rs 4669 crore while the media rights added Rs 951 crore more. During his tenure, even the brand value of IPL touched sky-high with its media rights cumulatively being sold for a massive amount of Rs 48,390 crore.
Add to it, Jay Shah made sure there was equal pay per international game for men's and women's cricketers and his recent landmark decision was introducing the prize money for Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament in all Women’s and Junior Cricket tournaments. Moreover, the prize money was also announced for the Player of the Match award winner in Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy
Looking at all his achievements as the BCCI secretary, it was a given that Jay Shah would get all the backing from the other board members for the ICC Chairman's post as globalising the sport has been one of the main agendas over the last few years. Moreover, cricket is also making its entry into the Olympics in 2028 and Shah's role will be pivotal in making sure that things go smoothly at the top level.
Greg Barclay served as the ICC Chairman for two terms of two years each and Jay Shah is also likely to get a similar period at least at the said position to create his legacy.
