The chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Jay Shah is all set to be honored by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for his special contributions to Indian cricket as the administrator.
Shah will receive the honor from the BCCI’s state units on the sidelines of the Special General Meeting. The meeting will take place on January 12 (Sunday) in Mumbai. The board will also formally elect its new secretary and treasurer.
The posts for the secretary and treasurer were vacated by Jay Shah and Ashish Shelar earlier. Shah had a tremendous impact as the secretary of the board which is the main reason for him to be honoured.
Also read: Manoj Tiwary attacks Gautam Gambhir, uses Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as weapons
Jay Shah Set To Be Honored by BCCI
Jay Shah served as BCCI’s secretary since October 2019 and also the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) since January 2021. He will be a ‘special invitee’ to the Special General Meeting, which has been called to officially elect the board’s new secretary and the treasurer, reported PTI.
He will receive the honor during this meeting. The BCCI is set to appoint Devajit Saikia and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia as the new secretary and treasurer respectively during this meeting.
Shah was appointed the ICC chairman in August 2024. He was elected unopposed and started his role on December 1. Shah replaced New Zealand’s Greg Barclay in this prestigious role.
Jay Shah’s contributions to Indian cricket
Jay Shah has played a key role in Indian cricket in various aspects. He introduced the payment structure in women’s cricket which was equal to men to move towards gender equality in the sport.
He introduced the Women’s Premier League in 2023 which has seen tremendous success in its first two editions. It was a milestone moment in women’s cricket in India and can be a game-changer in the future.
Shah was also responsible for the rise in salaries of domestic players in 2021. According to the salary revision, Ranji cricketers who have played more than 40 matches are receiving ₹60,000 per day, while those who have played 21 to 40 matches are being paid ₹50,000 since 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 was in the playing XI and half the amount if he was on the bench.
Working for cricket’s inclusion in Los Angeles Olympics 2028
As the ICC chairman, he recently met the top officials of the 2032 Olympics, which will be held in Brisbane, to discuss cricket’s inclusion in the Games. It is to be noted that cricket will mark its historic return to the Olympics after 128 years in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.
The sport has been played just once before in 1900, which was even before the First World War. Great Britain and France were the only teams who participated and the former won the gold medal.