Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah’s ICC chairmanship hopes put on hold, BCCI secretary settles for cricket committee berth

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly (left) with secretary Jay Shah during the IPL 2022 mega auction. (Photo: BCCI/IPL)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) board on Sunday convinced its chairman Gregor Barclay to complete his term till end of October before the global body starts its nomination process to find a new chairman where the Indian cricket board could play a massive role. It was earlier reported that both BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah could be interested in taking over from Barclay.

However, according to Cricbuzz website former BCCI president and Union Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur’s name could also be proposed for the position. The New Zealander Barclay was elected in December 2020 after an influential role played by the BCCI 18 months back.

If the election were to be held in May-June, the new chairman would have taken charge at the ICC Annual Conference in July. The delay works for the BCCI as it has been hoping that an Indian would be ICC chairman when the 50-over World Cup Trophy takes place in the country in 2023. By October, there will be a lot of clarity on who among the current office-bearers of the BCCI can continue.

In another significant development, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja’s proposal for a four-nation tournament has been unanimously rejected by the board, putting an end to speculations of multiple India versus Pakistan matches on neural venues. However, it must be noted that there was no voting on the topic

The other notable development was BCCI secretary Jay Shah being inducted into the ICC cricket committee. The two-day board meeting which concluded in Dubai on Sunday was a win-win one for the Indian cricket board as Barclay's continuation till October gives it ample time to strategise whether it will field a candidate for the top post in the month of November.

“There has been no discussion on renomination of Barclay. But he will finish his current two year term as a chairman till end of October. So the process of nominating a new chairman only starts in November,” an ICC Board member told news agency PTI on conditions of anonymity.

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja to disclose more details tomorrow regarding the debate over the four-nation series at the ICC meeting#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/Jaibmazmia — Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) April 10, 2022

The decision also helps the BCCI buy time as they are likely to have their AGM in September after which the composition of the national parent body will be clear. The BCCI has already appealed, seeking a few changes in the Lodha Constitution which many feel till date is practically non-implementable.

It will be interesting to see whether president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah go for a cooling-off in September. Shah’s name is doing the rounds as the next chairman of ICC but there has been no confirmation from either the BCCI secretary himself or sources close to him about his apparent interest in throwing his hat in the ring.

(with PTI inputs)