Jay Shah’s Big Decision Hovers Over Cricket’s Associate Member Directors Election

India boss Jay Shah’s expected ascension to the chair of the International Cricket Council has loomed large over an important Associate Member Directors election later this week in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

It has long been rumored that Shah, the sport’s most influential administrator as notably illustrated when he took center stage after India’s T20 World Cup triumph, will put his hand up to run world cricket.

The next chair election will be held later this year when current chair Greg Barclay’s second two-year term ends. The chair’s tenure has changed from a maximum of three two-year terms to two terms lasting three years each, but Barclay can run one more time.

All eyes are on Shah, with the expectation from industry sources being that he will seek the reins.

Shah, whose father Amit Shah is India’s minister of home affairs and the right-hand man to prime minster Narendra Modi, became India’s cricket governing body’s secretary in 2019, but isn’t eligible to run for its role of president until 2028.

In the meantime, the opportunity presents for Shah to rule the ICC officially – there are those who believe he already holds sway in global affairs as leader of cricket’s richest and most powerful governing body. He also heads the ICC’s all-important Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee.

Some influential cricket administrators are seemingly bracing for Shah to throw his hat in the ring, where it would almost certainly be a losing battle for challengers.

It is learned that ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja, who ran against Barclay in a divisive chair election in 2020, and board director Tavengwa Mukuhlani – who pulled out of contesting the 2022 contest – are unlikely to run.

Before then, Khwaja is one of 11 candidates – as I first revealed last month – fighting for three coveted positions on the all-powerful ICC board.

ForbesCricket’s Associate Member Directors Election Intensifies Ahead Of ICC Chair BattleBy

Shah’s shadow has been present during this Associate election campaign. It is believed that he has been active behind the scenes, seemingly wanting his preferred candidates on a board that he might soon be running.

It is unclear who he favors, with Khwaja an incumbent along with Neil Speight (Bermuda) and Pankaj Khimji (Oman).

They are battling a deep field of known candidates that includes former Associate Member director Mahinda Vallipuram, who lost his spot on the board two years ago, but has worked closely with Shah in recent years at the Asian Cricket Council.

Rising administrator Mubashshir Usmani, who is on the Chief Executives’ Committee and helped mastermind UAE’s well-heeled T20 league, is considered one of the favorites, while Gurumurthy Palani (France) is believed to have campaigned widely and strongly.

A wildcard might be former American cricket administrator Sankar Renganathan, who is representing Sierra Leone. He has been an outspoken critic of embattled USA Cricket, which is facing being put ‘on notice’ for non-compliance with its ICC Associate membership.

Getting on the ICC board might provide Renganathan with a springboard back into American cricket prominence. “I’m open to contributing to the growth of the sport in any region, including the U.S,” Renganathan told me. “We have yet to fully penetrate the mainstream American market and tap into the country’s vast potential.

“We’re at a critical juncture in cricket’s journey. While commercial progress has been significant, sustaining growth requires exploring new markets and avenues.”

The other candidates are Mahmood Gaznavi (Singapore), Rudie van Vuuren (Namibia), Stephen Musaele (Rwanda) and Sam Arthur (Costa Rica).