From District To Global Level, Jay Shah Does The Hard Yards

Jury is still out on where Jay Shah would be placed when India's cricket administrators are judged for their contribution to the game but what would remain undeniable is the no fuss manner in which he made space for himself in the corridors of power first nationally and now globally. The 35-year-old was elected unopposed as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the youngest ever to reach this position. Those who have seen the workings of BCCI, during his time as Board secretary, are not surprised by the rise and vouch for his ability to connect with players at a personal level.

Shah's formal entry into cricket administration was in 2009 when he started working at the district level with the Central Board of Cricket Ahmedabad (CBCA).

He then moved to state level administration as an executive with the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) and ultimately became its Joint secretary in 2013.

During his time there, he is credited with creating a structured system of age group coaching which ensured that when the players reached the Ranji level, they were up to speed in senior cricket. Result was Gujarat's Ranji Trophy win in 2016-17.

Equation with Players

It's not that past ICC heads from India have not had good equations with players.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, and N Srinivasan, two successful businessmen who became natural administrators, and Sharad Pawar, a career politician, did seek opinions from the senior players they trusted during their tenures as BCCI Presidents before heading to the ICC.

But in case of Shah, whether it is skipper Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli or bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah or next-in-line players like Ishan Kishan, and Hardik Pandya, he manages to have an equation with anyone