On August 27, it will be formally known that Jay Shah is the only candidate to succeed Greg Barclay of New Zealand as the next International Cricket Council (ICC) boss. At 35, he will be the youngest to take charge. Just over 27 years after Jagmohan Dalmiya moved from being BCCI Secretary to ICC head honcho, Shah is all set to do the same.
Others including N Srinivasan, Sharad Pawar and Shashank Manohar, who served as ICC heads, moved to the apex body after serving their tenures as Presidents of the BCCI.
For Shah, it will be an interesting challenge because the ICC’s financial health will be the key focus in the next three years. The USA experiment with the T20 World Cup has thrown up a lot many questions and if the ICC is serious about the market, they need to take a number of key calls. With the Olympics in four years and with cricket making it back for LA 28, this could be a huge opportunity as well. If things go wrong, it would also be a major opportunity lost. The failed experiment with New York has already served as a key lesson.
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Another question confronting the ICC, and it’s hardly new, is how the value of World Cups compares with key leagues like the IPL. Having done the IPL, Shah will know the economics, and as ICC boss, his ambition will be to make sure that the World Cups retain their aura, financially and otherwise. Can they compete with franchise leagues, or will their values go down over a period of time?
Finally, how does he deal with India? While he will have to keep Indian interests in mind, it will also be key as head of global cricket to make sure every stakeholder is happy. For example, how can Indian monies be leveraged for promoting Test Cricket?
As we wait for Shah to unanimously succeed Barclay, let me also say it will be a very interesting few years for him and cricket going forward. They could well define his legacy as a sports administrator.
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