Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has been elected unopposed to be the new International Cricket Council (ICC) chief. The news was announced by the ICC on Tuesday (Aug 27). Shah will succeed Greg Barclay as the Independent ICC Chair. He’ll start his tenure from December 1 later this year.
“I am humbled by the nomination as the Chair of the International Cricket Council,” Shah stated in a statement issued by the ICC.
“I am committed to working closely with the ICC team and our member nations to further globalize cricket. We stand at a critical juncture where it is increasingly important to balance the coexistence of multiple formats, promote the adoption of advanced technologies, and introduce our marquee events to new global markets. Our goal is to make cricket more inclusive and popular than ever before.”
“While we will build on the valuable lessons learned, we must also embrace fresh thinking and innovation to elevate the love for cricket worldwide. 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,” he added.
Shah is going to be the fifth Indian to head cricket’s global body after Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar. He’s also the youngest ICC chief, aged 35.
Shah started his career in cricket administration back in 2009 in his home state of Gujarat. He was elected as BCCI secretary in 2019 and again in 2022. During his tenure as BCCI secretary, he also got involved with ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs and became it’s chief in 2023. He was also the chief of Asian Cricket Council from 2021 to 2024.
After becoming the ICC chair, Shah will have to let go of his position in BCCI and ICC’s F&CA committee as well.