The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah is to be named as the new International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman, sources told NDTV. The report states that Shah already has the support of England and Australia's cricket boards, meaning that he has the numbers to win the elections and become the next ICC chief.
If the report proves true 35-year-old Shah would be the youngest person ever to hold the post and only the fifth Indian to lead the ICC after Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar.
Notably, ICC Chairman Greg Barclay had confirmed on Tuesday that he would not be seeking a third term. Barclay's term at the helm of cricket's governing body ends on November 30, and with the ICC Chairman being eligible for three terms of 2 years each, Barclay could have opted to contest the elections for a third time. However, according to the NDTV report, Barclay decided not to stand after being informed of Shah's intentions to replace him.
Jay Shah is currently one of the most recognisable faces in cricket administration around the world and heads the ICC's finance and commercial affairs sub-committee. He is said to have good relations with almost all of the 16 voting members.
Moreover, in case an election is held, Shah would only require a simple majority (51% of votes) to win the election, effectively meaning 9 votes or more. Earlier rules, on the other hand, required two-thirds votes to win the election.
BCCI constitution approved by the Supreme Court dictates that an office bearer can stay in their position for a maximum of six years before going off on a cooling period of 3 years. In totality, a person can stay in office for a cumulative of 18 years: 9 years in state association and 9 years at BCCI.
Shah only has a year left before he will have to vacate his position as BCCI secretary but if he decided to take the role of ICC Chairman, he will have a chance to continue as a BCCI office bearer for 4 more years.
