Cricket’s New Era Starts As All-Powerful Jay Shah Takes The Reins

Buckle up because a new era of cricket, with emotions ranging from trepidation to excitement swirling in the air, has started.

Jay Shah has stepped out of his all-powerful position at the Board of Control for Cricket in India to run international cricket. He started his new role as the governing body’s chair on December 1 and his term runs until the end of 2027. The chair’s tenure changed from a maximum of three two-year terms to two terms lasting three years each. At 36, Shah is the youngest ever International Cricket Council chair.

It’s been a role that has been years in the making. Given the inevitability and underlining his heft, Shah was elected unopposed meaning the usual election shenanigans and politicking was absent this year.

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There are several major cricket issues swirling around at the moment, but the ICC board has been somewhat paralyzed amid a waiting game for Shah to take over. The status of the Champions Trophy has dominated headlines in the latest row between bitter rivals India and Pakistan, who are hosting their first ICC event since 1996.

Given India do not travel to Pakistan under government orders, a hybrid model with UAE – which would host India matches and the knockout stages – is almost certainly set to be agreed upon by the board.

With just over two months until the tournament begins, the situation has dragged on and it’s been a bad look for the governing body with strong leadership seemingly lacking.

It is learned that there was little movement on key issues at the last meeting in October to underline the board’s stalemate before a shake-up under Shah is expected. An inquiry into the T20 World Cup finances related to the U.S. leg is still ongoing.

There is intrigue over how the board will function under his leadership. Those who are sceptical fear that Shah, whose father Amit Shah is India’s minister of home affairs and the right-hand man to nationalistic prime minster Narendra Modi, will be merely a mouthpiece for India.

The heavy-spectacled Shah, with slickly manicured hair on top of his rotund face makes him easy to lampoon, has not been shy to publicly demonstrate his inner fanboy. In unusual scenes for an administrator, a giddy Shah was front and center of India’s podium during their title celebrations at the T20 World Cup.

Brushing aside nationalism might seem difficult for Shah, who moves into a role that is supposedly independent. But there is an acceptance – or perhaps resignation – that India will have an iron grip on the board whoever is in the chair.

Critics of outgoing chair Greg Barclay, a pragmatic New Zealander, believed his role was merely reduced to conciliatory rather than agenda setting. When he stepped in the seat in 2020, with the backing of India to topple Singaporean Imran Khwaja, he was dubbed a “compromise candidate” and it was a label that proved hard to shake.

Shah won’t be a lame duck and is set to rule with an iron fist. While there is understandable scepticism, Shah will have the gravitas to make things happen. Those who have dealt with him have privately lauded his willingness to engage in discussion and there is hope that he can galvanize a board, mostly made up of cricket’s 12 Full Members, that often combusts due to self-interests.

Shah has so far said the right things publicly, seeking an inclusive approach by vowing to spread the sport beyond traditional terrain and developing women’s cricket. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where cricket will make its return to the Olympics after 128 years, will be the signature event for the sport this decade.

“This is an exciting time for the sport as we build up to the LA28 Olympic Games and strive to make cricket more inclusive and popular than ever before,” Shah said in a press statement. “We also stand at a critical juncture in terms of the coexistence of multiple formats and accelerating the growth of the women’s game.”

While there has been a lot of eye-rolling at the functioning of the ICC board, amid never-ending calls for constitutional reform, Shah is set to be a mover and shaker as cricket enters a new realm.

It is unlikely to be a quiet tenure.