The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, has become the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). He is now the youngest-ever chief of world cricket and the fifth Indian, along with Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar.
Jay Shah has been unopposed as the new chief replacing New Zealand’s Greg Barclay, as the former is now set to take his new role from December 01.
The global body currently holds 16 members because of no female director yet. During the non-nomination process, Shah received the hands of 15 members out of those 16, as Mohsin Naqvi, the chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), felt helpless and could only remain a spectator during the whole process.
PCB stays silent as Jay Shah takes charge in his new role
Once the England Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) showed their interest in Jay Shah becoming the new ICC chief, it was just a matter of time before it finally took place. The reports have also claimed the hands of the PCB were tied behind in the whole process.
Also Read: Imran Khan Slams Pakistan Chief For Embarrassing Defeat In 1st Test vs Bangladesh
“There wasn’t any word from PCB. Not that it was required because Shah had overwhelming support from the members. But the Pakistan board preferred to play the role of a spectator during the entire process.” News18 reported as revealed by the source.
The veteran will now begin his three-year term as the ICC chief towards the end of the year after leaving his current post as the secretary of the BCCI. In this upcoming period, one of the major events to take place in the game of cricket will be the LA Olympics in 2028.
He wants to drive the sport forward for the growth of the game, and the upcoming special event in 2028 will be a huge step towards the whole process.
“While we will build on the valuable lessons learned, we must also embrace fresh thinking and innovation to elevate the love for cricket worldwide.” Jay Shah expressed an ICC statement after being appointed for the role. “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.”
Already an investigation process is underway for the recently finished T20 World Cup 2028 in the West Indies and the United States of America. The ICC has already started to spread the advertisements for the head of the events, and along with Jay Shah, a few more changes are expected to happen in the governing body by December this year.
Shah has done a tremendous job for the success of Indian cricket in the recent past and will look to repeat the same feat in the ICC. One of the highlights of his career was to develop the financial health and domestic structure of Indian cricket.
Also Read: India To Face West Indies And South Africa For Warm-ups In Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
The initiative to launch the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has also been a huge success for the Indian side, as the infrastructure has improved at all centers. A new national cricket academy (NCA) has been built and is ready to get started, while India also hosted an ODI World Cup successfully last year. Regarding the team’s performances, they end their 11-year drought of an ICC trophy during the T20 World Cup 2024.
Jay Shah now has three months as the BCCI secretary before he moves to Dubai for what is expected to be a promising time for world cricket in the future.