CHENNAI: With the deadline for directors to file their nominations for the International Cricket Council chairperson post closes on Tuesday, all eyes are on BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is expected to be the front-runner should he be nominated for the top post.
As things stand, Shah has not shown any indication, but should his name be nominated before the deadline closes, he might be elected unopposed with not much competition. However, if there are multiple nominations, there will be an election, following which the new chair will take charge on December 1 this year.
And in Shah's case, as things stand, he is the favourite to win with more than half expected to support his candidature. In case of an election, the candidate needs nine votes of the 17 — 12 full member directors, three associate member directors who are elected by voting associate members and regional representatives, an independent female director and the ICC chairperson.
Mubashshir Usmani, Imran Khwaja and Mahinda Vallipuram were elected as the associate member directors in the recent Annual General Body meeting in July. Among the board of directors, the ICC chief executive does not have a vote and is an ex-officio member.
While the murmurs of Shah going to the ICC have been around for a while now, it all became official when current ICC chair Greg Barclay decided recently not to seek a third term. Barclay took charge as the Independent ICC Chair in November 2020, before being re-elected in 2022.
Should Shah apply and get the top post, he will have to resign from his current position as BCCI secretary as the chair is not allowed to be a part of or work for any member nation. Shah, who took charge as secretary in 2019, has one more year left at the BCCI office to complete his second term. After his completion, he will have to take a cooling off period of three years if he wants to continue in the BCCI.
However, if he goes to the ICC — where he can hold the office for a maximum of six years (three two year terms) — Shah can come back to BCCI as an office-bearer. While none of it is confirmed at the moment, things could get clearer in the next few days. And when it does, it will be interesting to see who takes the post of Shah in the BCCI. As of now, there are no front-runners but the water will be clearer once there is clarity on whether or not Shah moves to the ICC.
Revised T20 WC schedule
The ICC announced the revised schedule for the women's T20 World Cup that was moved from Bangladesh to United Arab Emirates on Monday. India will kick off their campaign against New Zealand on October 4 before playing Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia in Group A.
All but the clash against Australia will be played in Dubai which is the bigger of the two venues (other being Sharjah) with a capacity close to 25,000. If India qualifies for the semifinal, they will play the first one in Dubai on October 17. The other venue, Sharjah, with the capacity of 16,000, will host the second semifinal and final.
The tournament, initially scheduled to be played in Bangladesh, was moved because of the ongoing political turmoil in the country. With just a little over a month to go for the tournament, the preparations are underway in the UAE and is expected to get ready in time for the tournament that begins in Sharjah on October 3 with Bangladesh and Scotland playing the opening game.
