File picture of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Jay Shah, the incumbent secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has emerged as the front-runner to succeed Greg Barclay as the International Cricket Council (ICC) chair in December.
Shah’s expected candidature received a major boost with the ICC through a media release on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) night confirming Barclay’s decision to step down from his post at the annual conference in November.
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“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,” read the ICC statement.
Mere formality
According to the existing rulebook, Barclay was eligible to seek a third term of two years. However, with him deciding to step down, Shah’s elevation to the top job in the global cricket governing body appears to be a mere formality now.
The ICC has proposed rule changes to amend the Chair’s tenure to maximum two terms of three years each, in sync with the BCCI rulebook. Shah is supposed to serve a cooling-off period of at least three years at the BCCI after his current tenured ends in September 2025. However, he will have to resign as the BCCI secretary before taking over as the ICC chief.
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Each of the 16 current ICC directors will have to now file nominations for Barclay’s successor by August 27. Should there be multiple nominations, there will be an election in November, with the new Chair taking over on December 1.
Youngest chief
With Shah – the son of Home Minister Amit Shah – and the BCCI dominating the ICC boardroom, Shah has emerged as the prime candidate to be unanimously elected as the ICC chief.
Besides being the BCCI-appointed ICC director, Shah is also the chairperson of the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs sub-committee, among the most influential arms of the ICC.
Should he take over, he will be the youngest ever ICC chief. He will also join the august club of Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N. Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar as the Indians to have chaired the ICC.
