According to a report released in The Age, it is speculated that BCCI Secretary Jay Shah will emerge as the next chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). This comes after current ICC chairman Greg Barclay announced that he will not be seeking a third term. Barclay has held this position since November 2020 and was re-elected in 2022, with his current term ending on November 30, 2024.
The move comes after Barclay left amid a $3 billion dispute with Star, the ICC’s principal TV rights holder. According to unnamed people involved with the conversations, Shah has received backing from important cricketing entities such as Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Despite the buzz, neither Jay Shah nor the ICC have officially confirmed the transition. The deadline for submitting official nominations for the ICC chairperson position is August 27, 2024. The new chairman will be elected with a simple majority of the 16 voting members, with nine votes needed to win the position.
If Shah, the current head of the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs sub-committee, is chosen, he will become the ICC’s youngest chairman at 35. Shah is well-regarded within the ICC board, enjoying substantial goodwill among the voting members.
Shah’s potential move to the ICC would see him vacate his position as BCCI Secretary a year before his term ends. Under the BCCI constitution, office bearers must take a three-year cooling-off period after a six-year term. If Shah joins the ICC, he will have four years remaining on his BCCI term, with the cooling-off period beginning in October 2025.
The ICC’s chairman election now requires a 51% majority of the 16 votes, down from the previous two-thirds majority. As the present directors prepare for the nomination process, Shah’s significant role and extensive support place him as a major candidate for the chairperson.
