Sunil Gavaskar reacts to Jay Shah's appointment as the new ICC Chairman
Published - 28 Aug 2024, 12:48 PM | Updated - 29 Aug 2024, 11:09 AM
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has praised BCCI secretary Jay Shah after being elected unopposed as the next chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Sunil Gavaskar said that it would be no surprise if the world game flourishes even more during his term as ICC chairman.
Jay Shah was elected unopposed as the next independent chair of the International Cricket Council on Tuesday, August 27.
Shah will succeed Greg Barclay, who chose not to seek a third term and will step down on November 30. He was the only candidate for the position in the ICC.
Shah has been on the Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary since 2019. He has been the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council since 2021.
He will start his term as ICC chairman on December 1. It is worth mentioning that Shah is the youngest person to hold this position in ICC history.
That's Wonderful News - Sunil Gavaskar
In a conversation with the Times of India, Sunil Gavaskar said that past ICC presidents from India have advanced the game and increased revenue for the ICC and its member countries.
He added that Shah has made significant contributions to Indian cricket without any political bias.
"That’s wonderful news. All the ICC presidents from India have taken the game forward and brought more revenues for the ICC and with it for the other member countries. If one leaves political biases aside, one will agree that Jay Shah has taken massive steps for Indian cricket," Gavaskar told TOI in an interaction.
Jay Shah will be the fifth Indian to become the head or chairman of the International Cricket Council.
The previous Indians who have held the top position include Jagmohan Dalmiya (president), Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan, and Shashank Manohar.
Sunil Gavaskar Highlights Jay Shah’s Achievements as BCCI Secretary
Sunil Gavaskar highlighted Jay Shah’s achievements, including launching the Women’s Premier League (WPL), equalizing fees for Indian women cricketers with their male counterparts, raising pensions for retired players, and introducing incentives for availability in international matches.
Gavaskar also noted that Shah implemented prize money for domestic tournaments and oversaw the development of the new National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
He added that the global game could thrive even more under Shah’s leadership as ICC chairman.
"He was mainly instrumental in getting the Women's Premier League (WPL) off the ground, made the Indian women international cricketers' fees on par with the Indian men’s team, increased the pension for retired cricketers, brought in incentives for being available for Test and white-ball internationals and introduced prize money for the domestic tournaments."
"The new state-of-the-art National Cricket Academy (NCA, in Bangalore) has also come about during his tenure."
"With all this in front of us, it won’t be a surprise if the world game flourishes even more during his term as the ICC chairman," Gavaskar added.
Jay Shah took on the role of BCCI secretary in 2019. He currently heads the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs subcommittee.
