Jay Shah: From Amit Shah's son to carving his own identity to now ICC president

Aug. 28, 2024, 5:45 a.m.

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At only 35, Jay Shah is the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) youngest-ever president and will take over the post in December, replacing Greg Barclay. On Tuesday, he was elected unopposed as chair of the influential ICC.

It’s hardly a surprise if someone from BCCI becomes ICC president. Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar have done it in the past, but it has to be said that Jay Shah has managed to jump to the top spot in world cricket in his own style, carving a unique identity. He began as Amit Shah’s son, India’s powerful interior minister and close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but now enters ICC with a man who has taken multiple steps to strengthen an already dominating Indian cricket into a giant.

Advertisement Read | Jay Shah's remarkable rise and what his appointment could mean

Shah, who became BCCI secretary in 2019, oversaw the rapid rise of the wildly popular Indian Premier League (IPL), attracting some of world cricket’s top stars with bumper salaries in the shorter T20 format of the sport.

The pioneering IPL sold its broadcast rights in 2022 for five seasons to global media giants for an eye-popping $6.2 billion – putting it up amongst the highest-ranked sport leagues in cost-per-match terms.

The sport’s popularity has made the BCCI staggeringly powerful, with top politicians clinging to state associations for influence and benefits.

But Shah dreams bigger.

He also heads the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and helped push cricket’s return to the Olympic programme.

Read | Sunil Gavaskar states that it would not be surprising if the global game thrives under Jay Shah as ICC chairman

He has spoken of India’s “unparalleled global fan base”, and with cricket an Olympic sport in Los Angeles in 2028, dreams of using the sport to bolster India’s hopes of hosting the games in 2036.

“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,” Shah said Tuesday, after he was elected.

Advertisement Jay Shah will take over the ICC Chairmanship role in December 2024. Image: BCCI Shah’s swift career rise began in 2009 in his home state of Gujarat as a young man.

His father had earlier served himself as the president of the state’s Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA).

Shah’s rise from GCA

In 2013, Shah became GCA joint secretary.

It was under his watch that construction began turning the cricket ground in Gujarat’s main city Ahmedabad into the world’s largest cricket stadium, a vast 132,000-seat arena – named after Modi.

Two years later he also joined the top levels of the BCCI, and in 2019, then aged just 31, he was elected as the national board’s secretary.

His ascension to the country’s top cricketing job sparked criticism of nepotism.

Advertisement In a cricket-crazy country of 1.4 billion people, where the sport is treated more like a religion than a game, Shah’s role was watched keenly.

Although Shah largely avoided giving direct interviews during his time as head of the BCCI, he made an effort to project himself as a youthful, hands-on leader known for decisive action and player support.

Earlier this year, Shah cautioned cricketers against prioritizing the lucrative IPL tournament over domestic cricket.

“It is essential to recognise that domestic cricket forms the backbone of Indian cricket,” he wrote, a rare rebuke for the country’s superstar cricketers who have skipped home tournaments for lucrative franchise games.

Advertisement Champion of women’s cricket

Shah fashioned himself as a champion for women’s cricket as BCCI set up the Women’s Premier League on the lines of the IPL in 2023.

India’s rapid economic strides have helped players, coaches, and ground staff with much better pay and contracts.

But the BCCI under Shah has also faced criticism for not making sufficient efforts to improve cricket stadiums to enhance the overall comfort and viewing experience for millions of devoted fans.

Critics say the BCCI’s wealth and reach enable it to pull strings at the ICC.

In other nations, the ICC has acted promptly to suspend governing bodies due to political interference, including incidents in Zimbabwe in 2019 and Sri Lanka last year.

Advertisement But it has not acted over India’s deep ties between its ruling party and cricket authorities.

Shah’s drive also pushed cricket’s inclusion in the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham and the Asian Games 2022 in Guangzhou.

“Just as he has done for Indian cricket, both men and women, players worldwide will benefit,” former India great Sunil Gavaskar said of the young administrator in a column for India’s Sportstar publication.

With agency inputs