Jay Shah has been named the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). 15 out of the 16 members of the ICC voted in favor of Jay during the election, and he was elected unopposed. It means that almost every board was in the favor of the person, who had a brilliant stint as the BCCI secretary.
Since Jay Shah is from India, it is obvious that India will receive some benefit from whatever decisions he makes at the global level. However, there are some other countries as well, with whom Shah enjoyed a great working relationship during his tenure as the BCCI secretary.
The following three nations may also benefit from Shah’s appointment as the chairman.
1. Sri Lanka will benefit because Jay Shah is the ICC chairman
Sri Lanka had always been supportive of Shah’s decisions be it at the Asian Cricket Council level or the BCCI level. In July 2021, Shah agreed to send a B team of India to Sri Lanka so that the board could generate revenue from broadcasting rights and YouTube. Also, the ACC awarded the important matches of Asia Cup to Sri Lanka in 2023.
2. UAE
UAE has always been ready to host the tournaments which have been offered to them. In 2020 and 2021, UAE hosted the IPL matches. In 2021, Shah moved India’s T20 World Cup to UAE and Oman. Now, in 2024, UAE has shown readiness to host the Women’s T20 World Cup. Hence, such a country will always be in a beneficial position.
3. West Indies
Tours of West Indies were quite regular for India during Shah’s tenure. He will work hard to ensure that there is a fund so that the Caribbean cricketers can continue playing Tests. There have been reports of the board supporting Cricket West Indies and other boards for Tests, and Shah will likely approve the funds.
