International Cricket Council (ICC) President Jay Shah is all set to be recognized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for his special contribution to Indian cricket as an administrator.
Shah will be honored by the state BCCI units on the sidelines of the Special General Assembly. The match will be held on January 12 (Sunday) in Mumbai. The board will also formally elect a new secretary and treasurer.
The positions of secretary and treasurer were earlier vacated by Jay Shah and Ashish Shelar. Shah had immense influence as secretary of the board which is the main reason why he was honored.
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BCCI to pay tribute to Jay Shah
Jay Shah has served as the BCCI Secretary since October 2019 and also the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) since January 2021. He will be ‘specially invited’ to the Special General Assembly convened to formally elect the new Board Secretary and Treasurer, PTI reported.
He will receive the honor during this meeting. BCCI will appoint Devajit Saikia and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia as new secretary and treasurer respectively during this meeting.
Shah was appointed ICC chairman in August 2024. He was elected unopposed and took office on 1 December. Shah replaced New Zealander Greg Barclay in this prestigious position.
Jay Shah’s Contributions to Indian Cricket
Jay Shah has played a pivotal role in Indian cricket in various aspects. He introduced a pay structure in women’s cricket that was on par with men’s to move towards gender equality in the sport.
He introduced the Women’s Premier League in 2023, which was a huge success in its first two editions. It was a watershed moment in women’s cricket in India and could be a game changer in the future.
Shah was also responsible for the hike in domestic players’ wages in 2021. According to the salary revision, Ranji cricketers who have played more than 40 matches get ₹60,000 per day, while those who have played 21 to 40 matches get ₹50,000 from the 2021-22 season.
From 2016 to 2020, a senior domestic cricketer earned INR 1,40,000 from a four-day Ranji Trophy game if he played in the playing XI and half the amount if he was on the bench.
Working to include cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
As ICC president, he recently met with top officials of the 2032 Olympics, to be held in Brisbane, to discuss cricket’s inclusion in the Games. Notably, cricket will mark its historic return to the Olympics after 128 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The sport has only been played once so far in 1900, which was even before the First World War. Great Britain and France were the only teams to participate, with the former winning the gold medal.
