Jay Shah:5th Indian and the youngest person to head the ICC
Appointment
5 min read
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah has been elected unopposed as the next Independent Chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 27 August 2024.. He will replace New Zealand’s Greg Barclay, whose term will end on 30 November 2024. Jay Shah is the 5th Indian to head the ICC and, at the age of 35, is the youngest Chair of the ICC.
Jay Shah will begin his term as Independent Chair of ICC on 1 December 2024.
Term of the Independent Chair of the ICC
A person is elected as the Independent Chair of the ICC for two years and a maximum of three terms.
Greg Barclay was elected the ICC Independent Chair in 2020 and again re-elected in 2022. However, he declined to serve beyond his second term.
Jay Shah was the only person to file his nomination for the ICC Chair, and he was declared elected on 27 August 2024.
5th Indian to head the ICC and the third Indian to be Chair of the ICC
The ICC created the post of Independent Chair in 2014 and abolished the post of President in 2016. The Office of the Independent Chair is the most powerful post in the ICC.
Jay Shah will be the third Indian to be elected as the Chair of the ICC and the 5th Indian to head the ICC.
- Jagmohan Dalmiya was the first Indian to become the President of the ICC for the 1997-2000 period.
- Sharad Power was the second Indian to become the President of the ICC, serving a term from 2010 to 2012.
- In 2014, former BCCI President N. Srinivasan was elected as the first Chair of the ICC.
- Shashank Manohar replaced N. Srinivasan in 2015 and became the second Indian to be elected as the Chair of the ICC. His term as the Chair of the ICC was from 2015 to 2020.
- Jay Shah is the third Indian to be the Chair of the ICC and 5th to head the ICC.
About Jay Shah
Jay Shah is the son of the Indian Home Minister Amit Shah. He started his career in cricket administration in Gujarat in 2009. He was elected Secretary of the BCCI in 2019 and was again re-elected in 2022.
Jay Shah also joined the ICC’s influential Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) and was elected its Chair in 2023.
Jay Shah was elected as the President of the Asian Cricket Council from 2021 to 2024.
However, after being elected the ICC Chair, he will have to resign from his post as BCCI's Secretary and the ICC’s influential Finance & Commercial Affairs post.
International Cricket Council (ICC)
International Cricket Council is the world governing body of cricket.
It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909, but its name was changed to the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and in 1989, it was again changed to the International Cricket Council.
Members: 108 member countries
Headquarters: It was shifted from London, England, to Dubai, UAE, in 2005.
