NEW DELHI:
Jay Shah
, the 35-year-old
BCCI secretary
, has been elected unopposed as the youngest
ICC chairman
in
Dubai
on Tuesday. Shah will succeed 62-year-old
Greg Barclay
, who decided not to seek a third consecutive two-year term, and will assume the position on December 1.
As a result of this appointment, Shah will step down from his role at the
BCCI
during the Annual General Meeting, which is expected to take place in late September or October.
Shah becomes the fifth Indian to hold this prestigious position, following in the footsteps of
Jagmohan Dalmiya
, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and
Shashank Manohar
.
As a key decision-maker in the world's wealthiest cricket board, which contributes over 75 percent of the global body's revenue, Shah's election was virtually assured once he announced his candidacy, reported PTI.
It is believed that one of the influential SENA cricket boards (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) proposed Shah, while another seconded the nomination, leaving him as the sole contender on the final day of nominations.
The ICC constitution stipulates that there are 17 votes, comprising 12 full Test-playing nations, the chairman, deputy chairman, two associate member nominees, and one independent female director.
Shah has been nominated by all 15 members of the ICC Board.
Shah's suitability for the role was evident when he was appointed head of the ICC's most influential sub-committee, the Finance and Commercial Affairs (F&CA), in 2022.
The timing of Shah's election is advantageous, as he would have been required to take a mandatory three-year cooling-off period from 2025 to 2028 under the BCCI constitution.
The constitution allows office-bearers to serve for a cumulative period of 18 years, with nine years in the national board and nine years in state units. However, an individual can only hold office for a maximum of six consecutive years, after which a three-year cooling-off period is required.
If all goes according to plan, Shah can serve two terms in the ICC and return to complete his remaining four years in the BCCI in 2028, potentially as the board's president.
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