Jay Shah set to start ICC stint, board recommends change in chief’s tenure

The International Cricket Council has recommended changes in the chief's tenure. The move comes right before Jay Shah is set to take over the cricket body.

In Short

• Jay Shah has been named the new ICC chief
• Shah will take over the post in December
• ICC has recommended changes in the tenure of the chief

The ICC Board has recommended changes to the term of its Chair and Independent Director to two terms of three years each, replacing the current three terms of two years. If implemented, this means that BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is set to take over as the global cricket body's chief on December 1 this year, will head the ICC for three years. After this, he can seek a second three-year term with the board's approval.

The bulk of Shah's first term will overlap with his cooling-off period of three years in the BCCI, which would have started in September 2025. An office bearer in the Indian board can serve for a cumulative period of 18 years, with nine years in the board and an equal number in the state unit. However, as per the Supreme Court-approved constitution, a person must undergo a mandatory cooling-off period of three years after serving as an office bearer in the BCCI or its state unit for a consecutive period of six years.

During the ICC board meeting, the global body also approved a series of women's Associate Member T20 competitions to boost the competitiveness of smaller cricket-playing nations. This initiative prepares for the expansion of women's events in the 2028-2031 cycle.

"The strategy includes the creation of two annual T20 International tournaments between 2025 and 2028, which would offer structured cricket with context to 24 teams in the pathway ahead of the 16-team ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2030, with further details to be announced in due course," said the ICC statement.

Additionally, the ICC board approved the 2025-2029 women's Futures Tour Programme (FTP) and calendar, which will be published soon. It was also approved by the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) that the Women's rankings annual update will now move to May 1 from October 1 of each year, and teams will now need to have played a minimum of eight matches instead of six, due to the significant increase in women's international cricket.

The Chief Executives' Committee also confirmed the mechanism for ODI status for the five Associate Member women's teams of the 16 for the 2025-2029 cycle. This will comprise a maximum of two Associate Members that qualify for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025, with the remaining slots determined by the ICC T20I team rankings at the time of the annual update. (indiatoday)