Jay Shah to be next ICC chairman: Report

The secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jay Shah will take over as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), replacing the incumbent Greg Barclay in November this year, media house NDTV has reported.

Current ICC chairman Greg Barclay on Tuesday (August 20) opted out of a third term following the end of his tenure on November 30, fuelling speculations on BCCI secretary Jay Shah’s future at the sport’s governing body, news agency PTI reported.

Barclay is supposed to have come to this decision after coming to know that the BCCI secretary was going to run for the post. Jay Shah has the backing of the cricket boards of Australia and England, and therefore would be able to win an election against the incumbent. August 27 is the last date for filing nominations for the chairman’s post.

Four other Indians have headed the ICC in the past — Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar.

Barclay not in race

An ICC chairman is eligible for three terms of two years each and Barclay, a New Zealand-based attorney, has so far completed four years.

“ICC Chair Greg Barclay confirmed to the Board that he will not stand for a third term and will step down from the post when his current tenure finishes at the end of November. Barclay was appointed as the Independent ICC Chair in November 2020, before being re-elected in 2022,” the ICC has stated in a media release.

As per ICC rules, the chairman’s election comprises 16 votes and now a simple majority of nine votes is required (51 per cent) for the winner. Earlier, to become the chairman, the incumbent needed to have two-third majority.

“Current directors are now required to put forward nominations for the next Chair by 27 August 2024 and if there is more than one candidate, an election will be held with the term of the new Chair commencing on 1 December 2024.”

Jay Shah enjoys goodwill

Shah is considered as one of the most influential faces in the ICC board room. He is currently the head of ICC’s all-powerful Finance and Commercial Affairs (F&CA) sub-committee.

He enjoys a lot of goodwill with most of the 16 voting members. Currently, Shah has another one year left as the BCCI secretary before going on a mandatory cooling off period of three years from October, 2025.

As per the BCCI constitution approved by the Supreme Court, an office bearer can stay for six before he needs to go for a cooling off of three years. In all, a person can stay in office for a cumulative period of 18 years — nine in state association and nine in BCCI.

If Shah decides to move to ICC with a year of his secretaryship still left, he will have four years left in the BCCI.

If the 35-year-old Jay Shah does acquire the post, he will be the youngest ICC chairman in history.

(With agency inputs)