Indian cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar has lauded BCCI secretary Jay Shah following his uncontested election as the new ICC Chairman. Gavaskar expressed confidence that Shah’s tenure could further enhance the global game.
Shah, elected unopposed on August 27, will succeed Greg Barclay, who opted out of a third term and will step down on November 30. Shah was the sole candidate for the role.
Serving as BCCI secretary since 2019 and Asian Cricket Council chairman since 2021, Shah will assume his ICC chairman role on December 1, becoming the youngest person to hold this position in ICC history.
That’s Wonderful News – Sunil Gavaskar
In a conversation with the Times of India, Sunil Gavaskar said that past ICC presidents from India have advanced the game and increased revenue for the ICC and its member countries.
He added that Shah has made significant contributions to Indian cricket without any political bias.
“That’s wonderful news. All the ICC presidents from India have taken the game forward and brought more revenues for the ICC and with it for the other member countries. If one leaves political biases aside, one will agree that Jay Shah has taken massive steps for Indian cricket,” Gavaskar told TOI in an interaction.
Jay Shah will be the fifth Indian to become the head or chairman of the International Cricket Council.
The previous Indians who have held the top position include Jagmohan Dalmiya (president), Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar.
Sunil Gavaskar Highlights Jay Shah’s Achievements as BCCI Secretary
Sunil Gavaskar praised Jay Shah for his significant accomplishments, such as launching the Women’s Premier League (WPL), equalizing pay between Indian women cricketers and their male counterparts, increasing pensions for retired players, and creating incentives for players’ availability in international matches.
Gavaskar also commended Shah for introducing prize money for domestic tournaments and managing the establishment of the new National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
He suggested that the global cricket scene could experience even greater success under Shah’s leadership as ICC chairman.
“He was mainly instrumental in getting the Women’s Premier League (WPL) off the ground, made the Indian women international cricketers’ fees on par with the Indian men’s team, increased the pension for retired cricketers, brought in incentives for being available for Test and white-ball internationals and introduced prize money for the domestic tournaments.”
“The new state-of-the-art National Cricket Academy (NCA, in Bangalore) has also come about during his tenure.”
“With all this in front of us, it won’t be a surprise if the world game flourishes even more during his term as the ICC chairman,” Gavaskar added.
Jay Shah took on the role of BCCI secretary in 2019. He currently heads the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs subcommittee.
