Cricket West Indies (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave has opened up about the unanimous vote in favour of Jay Shah for the post of International Cricket Council (ICC) President. Shah received unanimous votes in his favour for the post and no further elections were needed as he was the only candidate for the position.
Jay Shah’s tenure as ICC President will begin on December 1 and will last for three years. Before becoming ICC President, he served as BCCI Secretary and is credited with bringing about some historic changes in Indian cricket, including the development of women’s cricket.
Shah’s tenure as BCCI secretary was primarily highlighted by his vision to improve the structure of domestic cricket in the country and make players prioritise domestic cricket over lucrative IPL deals.
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Johnny Grave opens up about how Jay Shah was unanimously elected to the post of ICC President
During a conversation with The Indian Express, Johnny Grave spoke about Shah’s tenure as BCCI Secretary, during which India successfully hosted some big events like the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
Shah is also credited with high returns through broadcast deals for the Indian Premier League (IPL). The IPL broadcast rights for the 2023-27 period were valued at INR 48,390 crore.
“The ICC board does not want to waste too much time on internal politics. If you look at Jay’s leadership at the BCCI, it has been wonderful. He has hosted the Women’s Premier League, successfully overseen the 50-overs World Cup in India and has signed major broadcast deals with the IPL and for the BCCI,” Johnny Grave was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Jay Shah’s role in developing women’s cricket in India
Shah played a key role in the development of women’s cricket in India. The rise of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is a clear example of this. Under Shah’s leadership, the BCCI reached new heights in terms of securing major broadcast deals for bilateral series.
Overall, Jay Shah’s tenure at the BCCI was impressive and the ICC hopes he can revitalise the World Cricket Board in the same vein. Grave suggested that the ICC hopes Shah will bring in some crucial revenue to the board that will help the development of the game.
One of Jay Shah’s key responsibilities will be to revive Test cricket. With the advent of T20 cricket and franchise leagues, the value of Test cricket among member countries has declined.
The resurgence of Test cricket
Currently, only a few countries can afford to play a Test series of more than two matches and end up making a profit. Those countries are mainly the Big Three: India, England and Australia.
After his appointment as ICC President, Jay Shah also spoke about prioritising Test cricket and preserving the format.
The ICC needs to take a big step to revive the original format of cricket, especially in the small countries that play it. As BCCI secretary, Jay Shah introduced the ‘Incentive Scheme for Test Cricket’ after India’s win in Dharamsala over England earlier this year. The scheme was initiated to offer additional income to players for participating in the red-ball format.
