India’s Jay Shah will succeed New Zealander Greg Barclay as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) later this year, the governing body said on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Shah, son of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home minister Amit Shah, will be the youngest ever ICC chairman when he begins his tenure on December 1.
Barclay decided against seeking a third term and Shah, considered the game’s most influential administrator as the secretary of the world’s richest cricket board, was the sole candidate, the ICC said.
Shah, also president of the Asian Cricket Council, said he was committed to spreading the game, which will return to the Olympics after a gap of 128 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“I am committed to working closely with the ICC team and our member nations to further globalise cricket,” Shah said, adding he was “humbled” by the appointment.
“We stand at a critical juncture where it is increasingly important to balance the coexistence of multiple formats, promote the adoption of advanced technologies, and introduce our marquee events to new global markets,” he said.
“Our goal is to make cricket more inclusive and popular than ever before.
“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 he wanted to “embrace fresh thinking and innovation to elevate the love for cricket worldwide”.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India also congratulated him on the development.
Top cricketers in India enjoy superstardom with millions of die-hard fans, most lucrative playing contracts, and endorsement deals not seen anywhere else in global cricket.
On some counts, Indian cricket on average generates more revenue than Bollywood.
More than 90 per cent of the sport’s billion-plus worldwide fans are in the Indian subcontinent, according to a 2018 ICC study.
