From Gujarat Cricket Association to ICC Chairman — Jay Shah’s rise reveals how political power and sporting influence increasingly overlap.
By Kennedi Gopalan
When Jay Shah began his career in 2013 as joint secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), few outside Gujarat’s political circles took notice. Ten years later, he sits at the pinnacle of world cricket — as Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), effective December 2024. The journey has been meteoric, meticulously planned, and politically telling.
Critics often point to his lack of cricketing background, quipping that he’s never held a bat. But that argument misses the point. Harsha Bhogle, one of India’s most respected voices in cricket commentary, never played the game professionally either. The real question isn’t about Jay Shah’s playing record. It’s about his chosen field — why cricket?
Cricket in India is no ordinary sport. It is a multi-billion-dollar ecosystem — a fusion of entertainment, commerce, and national emotion. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wields more financial and political power than most government sports ministries combined. Whoever controls Indian cricket commands not just the game, but a potent mix of visibility, sponsorship capital, and soft influence that reaches far beyond the boundary line.
Why not hockey, swimming, or kabaddi? Because those disciplines, despite their history and homegrown appeal, don’t offer the same leverage. They lack the media machinery, corporate sponsorship, and mass devotion that cricket guarantees.
Jay Shah’s administrative climb — from GCA to BCCI Secretary in 2019, and now ICC Chairman — mirrors how political ecosystems replicate themselves across institutions of influence. In this light, his journey is less about passion for cricket and more about consolidating presence in the one sport that commands the nation’s pulse and purse.
So yes, every parent wishes to make life easier for their children. Amit Shah is no exception. But in India, cricket isn’t just an easy life. It’s an empire.
And that’s precisely why cricket — not kabaddi.