This is cricket’s worst kept secret. Powerful Jay Shah is set to take the top job in world cricket after current International Cricket Council president Greg Barclay announced he will not seek a third term. As we pointed out last month, Shah, the sport’s most powerful administrator, is likely to raise his hand to head the ICC board, world cricket’s powerhouse, as he showed when he was in the spotlight after India’s T20 World Cup victory. . Barclay’s second two-year term ends in November. The term of office of the council president changed from three single two-year terms to two three-year terms, but he could run for one more term.
But on Tuesday night he told the ICC board he would not vote again. As The Age reported, Shah told Barclay he was willing to replace him and had the numbers to do so. As we reported last month, veteran parliamentarian Imran Khwaja, who ran against Barclay in the 2020 split presidential election, and Tabengwa Mukuhlani, who was ousted in 2022, decided not to run for a long time even though they knew they would run . It’s been a long time. Given the enormous influence that money-hungry India wields in a sport completely dominated by finance, everyone knew that Shah would receive huge support if he ran. Shah, whose father Amit Shah was India’s home minister and a close confidante of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, became general secretary of the Indian Cricket Association in 2019 but will not take up the post until 2028.
In addition, Shah was given the opportunity to formally head the ICC. Some believe the ICC has global influence as the head of cricket’s richest and most powerful governing body. He also chairs the ICC’s powerful Finance and Trade Committee. As we reported last month, Shah has been the shadow of a shadow in the recent community election campaigns. The reason he is known to be active behind the scenes is probably because he wants his favorite candidates in the council he will lead in the near future.
Khwaja, Mubashshir Usmani, who was part of the influential steering committee and headed the Emirates Cricket Board, and Mahinda Vallipuram held three seats on the ICC board. Former Malaysian leader Valipuram, who lost his seat on the board in 2022, worked closely with Shah at the Asian Cricket Council. With chess armed, the extended takeover won’t be a typical mudslinging campaign this time around.
