ICC chairman Jay Shah was recently recognised at CNN-News18’s Indian of the Year event in New Delhi with the Outstanding Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cricket. Shah received the award in recognition of decisions taken by him which left a long-term impact for Indian cricket, including women’s cricket, during his tenure as BCCI Secretary (October 2019 to December 2024).
Shah, who will succeed Shashank Manohar as ICC Chairman when he takes charge in December 2024, played a significant role behind the scenes to give modern India cricket. During his stint as BCCI Secretary, there were structural reforms, landmark policies and miletsone commercial deals. Among the most important ones were, pay parity between male and female cricketers, formation of Women’s Premier League (WPL) and an INR 50,000 crore broadcast rights deal came to an end.
It honours such efforts, some of which have laid the foundation for India’s recent on-field successes like Indian women’s team winning ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.
Receiving the award, Jay Shah dedicated it to women’s cricket of India and the cricketers, who motivated drives for change. Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami attended the ceremony. He applauded the women’s team for raising performance levels all around.
Shah then reminisced on his five-year tenure as BCCI secretary. He argued that the decisions that transformed Indian cricket began with the establishment of the domestic cricket infrastructure. During his tenure, grassroots and state-level cricket received upgraded facilities and financial assistance, resulting in stronger talent streams.
The new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru was the high point of much of his speech. The modern facility is spred over 20 lakh sq feet and has fields that are replicas of those in leading cricket nations such as Australia, South Africa and England. “This has definitely enhanced India’s performance abroad as the players have got to practice on more realistic facilities,” Shah said.
However, Shah emphasized that two decisions remain important to his heart: wage equity and the WPL. These actions, he added, were critical to provide women cricketers the exposure and platform they deserved. WPL’s success has already begun to show benefits, with Indian women already meeting global standards and enjoying more professional prospects.
