'Let Us Take Pride...': Himanta Schools Mamata Over Her Remarks on Jay Shah's ICC Chairmanship

New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday came down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her recent remarks on Jay Shah, who was recently elected as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). "Respected Didi, ICC Chairperson is an elected post. You will agree with me that this is different from handing over the control of an organisation to one’s nephew or son.  Let us take pride that with Jay Shah, five Indians have had the honour to head global cricket. Regards", tweeted Sarma.

What Mamata Said?

“Congratulations, Union home minister (Amit Shah) !! Your son (Jay Shah) has not become a politician, but has become the ICC chairman - a post much much more important than most politicians!!” Mamata had said.

Jay Shah Becomes Youngest Ever ICC Chairman

BCCI secretary Jay Shah was elected unopposed as the next ICC chairman on Tuesday, making him the youngest ever to reach the pinnacle of global cricket administration. The 35-year-old Shah, who has been the BCCI secretary since 2019, will take over from 62-year-old incumbent Greg Barclay on December 1 after the New Zealander decided against running for a third consecutive term of two years.

Shah will relinquish his position in India at the BCCI's Annual General Meeting likely to be held towards the end of next month or in October. Shah became the fifth Indian after late Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar to be elected for the high-profile job.

Being a powerful decision-maker in the richest cricket board of the world, which contributes more than 75 per cent of the revenue for the global body, Shah's election was never in doubt once he threw his hat in the ring.

It is understood that one among the powerful SENA cricket boards (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) was Shah's proposer and another one of these countries seconded the nomination. And he remained the lone contender on the last day of nominations.

As per the ICC constitution, there are 17 votes -- 12 full Test-playing nations, a chairman, a deputy chairman, two associate member nominees and one independent female director.

That he is a likely choice was evident when he was appointed the head of ICC's most powerful sub-committee -- the Finance and Commercial Affairs (F&CA) in 2022. The timing couldn't have been better for Shah, who would have had to go on a mandatory cooling off period in 2025 for a period of three years till 2028.

The BCCI constitution allows office-bearers to stay in office for a cumulative period of 18 years -- nine in national board and nine in state units. But at a stretch, a person can remain an office-bearer for a period of only six years after which a three-year cooling-off period is necessary. Shah, if all goes well, can have two terms in the ICC and come back to complete his remaining four years in BCCI in 2028 albeit as president of the board.