Jay Shah has created history by becoming the youngest ICC Chairman, leading the International Cricket Council at 35. He is immensely supported by 15 out of the 16 board members, the 16th director was Jay Shah himself, during the time of nominations which eliminated the requirement to conduct elections as the majority was clear. Jay Shah, elected as Chairman on Tuesday received backing and support from the directors of Australia, England, and New Zealand.
For the first time, ICC has come together so strongly that the support was unidirectional. Jay Shah’s rise to this position is remarkable. Over the years, India has sent many influential leaders to the ICC including Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar, and none of them could claim the unanimous and overwhelming backing of the ICC members.
Dalmiya had to fight off opposition in 1997, Pawar ascended the position in 2010, and Australia and New Zealand were pushing for John Howard, the former Prime Minister of Australia. Srinivasan (2014) managed to win over England and Australia, but many other boards needed to be fully aligned with him.
Cricket in Olympics: Jay Shah’s contribution
Shah’s most significant achievement so far has been the inclusion of Cricket in the Olympics, which none of the other leaders could achieve and even resisted fearing that it would hinder their autonomy at the national level, particularly vis-à-vis the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Shah’s perspective transcended such concerns, focusing instead on the larger interest of the sport. Without the BCCI’s backing, an Olympic berth for cricket would not have been possible, and Shah saw the importance of taking the game to the Olympic Games.
Challenges faced during COVID-19 as BCCI Chairman
One of the biggest challenges that appeared during Jay Shah’s BCCI Chairmanship was the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. His biggest achievement was navigating the challenging Covid period in 2020 and 2021 when much of the world had come to a standstill. But cricket in India did not. He successfully managed several international home series and, most notably, two seasons of the IPL in a strict bio-secure bubble.
While his father Amit Shah’s position (the Union Home Minster) in the Central Government may have helped, the fact remained that cricket continued to thrive in India, even in the most difficult times. Crucially, he ensured that the 2021 T20 World Cup was held in the UAE, with the BCCI retaining the hosting rights. Last year, he delivered the most successful World Cup ever.
Jay Shah’s Journey:
A landmark decision in Shah’s tenure was the launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), ensuring that both the franchises and media rights were not undervalued or undersold. The league’s teams were cumulatively sold for an impressive Rs 4,669 crore, while the media rights added Rs 951 crore, numbers hitherto unthinkable in women’s cricket. This came on top of the Rs 48,390 crore for the IPL media rights, an eye-popping and jaw-dropping valuation. The value of BCCI’s bilateral rights also saw a considerable uplift, with each international game fetching Rs 67.8 crore, bringing the overall four-year value to Rs 5,963 crore. These figures would have made even Lalit Modi proud.
Shah’s administrative journey began at the district and state levels in 2009, when he worked with the Central Board of Cricket, Ahmedabad (CBCA), and the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) as an executive. In 2013, he became the joint secretary of the GCA, where he played an instrumental role in raising the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world’s largest cricket ground. Taking over as the BCCI secretary in 2019, Shah also oversaw one of the finest phases in Indian cricket history, marked by success at the international level, including the recent T20 World Cup triumph. Notably under his leadership, the BCCI – an organization known for its factionalism otherwise – remained solidly united.
