No contest likely as Jay Shah looks in pole position for ICC top job

It could be a matter of months before Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Indian Cricket (BCCI) and son of Union home minister Amit Shah, takes over as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The decks were cleared for a November takeover as incumbent ICC chief Greg Barclay of New Zealand announced on Tuesday that he would not stand for a third term, and no other cricket board is expected to rock the boat of big brother India by fielding a candidate. 

Shah, set to be the youngest ICC chairman at 35 unless there is a major twist in the tale, heads what is financially the strongest cricket board in the game, and reportedly has the hot seat as his ultimate goal. He already has the support of England and Australia and claims to have the numbers as only a simple majority (nine out of 16 directors) is now required to push his candidature in the board of directors’ meeting once Barclay’s second term ends in November. 

An ICC statement on Tuesday read: "ICC chair Greg Barclay confirmed to the Board that he will not stand for a third term and will step down from the post when his current tenure finishes at the end of November. Barclay was appointed as the Independent ICC Chair in November 2022, before being re-elected in 2022.

"Current directors are now required to put forward nominations for the next chair by 27 August 2024 and if there is more than one candidate, an election will be held with the term of the new chair commencing on 1 December 2024."

This means Shah will have to first submit his nomination with the deadline, and is already assured of the endorsement of two other board members to be considered a valid candidate.

The ICC has, meanwhile, proposed rule changes to amend the chair’s tenure to a maximum of two terms of three years each, in sync with the BCCI's existing rule book. Shah, whose second three-year term at BCCI actually ends in September 2025, needs to resign ahead of term before he takes over the most prestigious role in world cricket administration.

As the BCCI rules would need him to spend a cooling period of three years once his second term ends next year, it is believed that Shah sees this as an opportune moment to go for the top job. Incidentally, Shah is also the chairperson of the ICC’s finance and commercial affairs sub-committee, a nominated post in light of the BCCI's say in money matters. He will now likely join a club of some of India's most heavyweight cricket administrators: Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N. Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar. 

However, the job will not be easy, as the ICC is currently staring at a major financial challenge with Star Sports, their official broadcasters, seeking relief from a mega deal they had signed in late 2022 for rights to broadcast global cricket events in India from 2024-27. However, Star now wants to re-negotiate the deal and reduce its value by up to half, potentially meaning a loss of millions of dollars from the budgets of major cricket countries over the next four years. 

Star’s winning bid for both TV and digital rights to the tune of $US 3 billion over four years was made on the understanding that it would on-sell a portion of the deal to Zee TV, which in turn was banking on a potential merger deal with Sony. However, with the Zee TV-Sony merger falling through, Star is now left with the task of footing the bill itself, and hence wants a renegotiation. 

The other potential challenge before Shah is whether he can influence India’s stance vis-a-vis visiting Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy early next year, which may be the first major event under Shah’s helmsmanship.