Jay Shah made headlines, as he was unanimously elected head of the International Cricket Council, ICC, without any opposition. This is also termed as a huge victory for Shah and Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI, as Shah became only the fifth Indian to have held this prestigious position that has had earlier achievers like Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, Shashank Manohar, and N Srinivasan from India.
Jay Shah Becomes The Youngest ICC Chairman
Jay Shah has managed to join cricket’s galore, becoming the youngest ever ICC Chairman at just 35 years of age. He is the fifth Indian to hold the key ICC spot, Shah has been elected for a three-year term in the first instance, which can be extended for as long as three more years. This means he has to step down from his current role of BCCI secretary on December 1, 2024, before he can start his new assignment.
After his appointment, Jay Shah thanked the lot at ICC for believing in him. He spoke about his commitment to bringing back Test cricket to its “glory days” since he felt that recently more teams were liking T20I formats. He also intends to focus on the development of women’s cricket and giving it more representation and support in times to come.
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Early Life And Career
Jay Shah was born to Amit Shah and Sonal Shah on September 22, 1988, in Gujarat. His father, Amit Shah, is an Indian politician and the current 32nd Minister of Home Affairs; he is also considered a very close confidant and advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Jay Shah spent most of his childhood years in Gujarat, completing his schooling there, and then pursued his B.Tech from Nirma University in Ahmedabad.
Jay Shah started his professional journey as an executive board member of the Gujarat Cricket Association in 2009. He was promoted to the joint secretary post of GCA in September 2013 and played a vital role in developing the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which is now the world’s largest cricket stadium with a seating capacity of 132,000. His father Amit Shah was then the President of GCA.
In 2015, Shah became a member of BCCI’s marketing and finance committees. He took over as the secretary of the BCCI in October 2019 and was also re-elected to the post in October 2022. His term witnessed him negotiating a landmark media rights deal for the Indian Premier League, fetching an astonishing Rs. 48,390 crore and placing the IPL in its now-cemented position as the most valuable cricket league in the world after the NFL.
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In January 2021, Shah was elected President of the Asian Cricket Council too, and he played the lead role in working with the ICC Olympics Working Group to secure cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics. In August 2024, it was announced that Jay Shah would be the next ICC Chairman from December 1, 2024, onwards, and he became the youngest person to take over this highly prestigious position.
Personal Life
Jay Shah married Rishita Patel, on 10th February 2015. It has been reported that Rishita is from a well-known business family. Jay and Rishita were college friends before they started dating each other. This led Jay and Rishita to decide to marry after their love for each other blossomed. Together they are parents of two daughters- both charming.
Net Worth
An estimate by The Financial Express states that Jay Shah is worth approximately Rs. 124 crore. Talking about his remuneration as BCCI secretary, there was no defined salary; instead, he has daily allowances per his requirement at work. Sportskeeda reported that in case of international trips, the BCCI secretary has a daily allowance of Rs. 84,000, for which Rs. 40,000 is the allowance in case of domestic assignments.
