Jay Shah recognised for leadership role in cricket, conferred Sports Business Leader of the Year Award 2023

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, Jay Shah, has been awarded Sports Business Leader of the Year 2023 for guiding the richest cricket board in introducing a new league and successfully hosting a World Cup at home this year.

The BCCI shared the news with cricket fans on its social media handle – X (previously known as Twitter), writing,“CONGRATULATIONS to BCCI Honorary Secretary @JayShah on being awarded the Sports Business Leader of the Year Award at the @FollowCII Sports Business Awards 2023. A first for any leader in Indian Sports administration, this recognition is truly deserved!”

“His (Shah’s) leadership has left an indelible mark on Cricket worldwide — spearheading the ICC Men’s World Cup to new heights, championing inclusivity with significant strides in pay parity and the creation of the Women’s Premier League, steering the inclusion of Cricket at the Olympics, and many more groundbreaking initiatives that have changed the game forever!,” the post added.

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Meanwhile, outside of handling cricket and administrative-related operations in BCCI, Shah is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) – responsible for conducting the Asia Cup.

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Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-hosted this year’s edition after BCCI and the Indian Governmentdisagreed on travelling to Pakistan (the original host of Asia Cup 2023) due to security concerns. The Men in Blue defeated Sri Lanka by ten wickets in one of the most one-sided finals in tournament history.

Four years after being appointed the BCCI secretary in 2019, Shah was named the ACC president earlier this year.

World Cup viewership broke records

The 2023 ODI World Cup saw several records blowing the roof off, with a record attendance of 1.25 million in 45 contested matches. A tournament that lasted around one and a half months registered a whopping 518 million views, more than the previous edition in England.

While India was tipped to win the home World Cup, given their tremendous form in the lead-up to the final, Australia pipped them on the day when it mattered the most, winning the final in Ahmedabad by six wickets.

Meanwhile, under Shah’s leadership, the BCCI introduced the maiden edition of the WPL earlier this year, with the auction for next year scheduled in Mumbai on Saturday (Dec 9). On the other hand, the BCCI will host the IPL 2024 mini-auction scheduled in Dubai on Tuesday (Dec 19).