New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has proposed changes in terms of its chairman and the independent director to two terms of three years each instead of three terms of two years each, which is the current norm. If the recommendation gets approved by the ICC members, it would mean that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, who is all set to take up the role of the ICC chair on December 1 this year, will head the ICC for three years and can also seek a second three-year term with the board’s approval after that.
The ICC Board met in Dubai over the weekend and recommended that the term for the chair and the independent director be changed. In a statement on Monday, the ICC said that the proposal will now be “circulated for approval” among its members which comprise Full and Associate Members. Although no reason behind this proposal was made public, it is understood that the move is part of the ICC’s bid for better internal governance.
The Board believes that this will provide security and stability to both the chair and the independent director without having to be concerned over the elections every two years. One might argue that the overall term of six years remains the same but the change will provide more continuity to the office holders.
35-year-old Shah was elected unopposed to replace the departing ICC chairman Greg Barclay, who has already served two of his three terms since being first elected in 2020. Meanwhile, the position of the independent director has been lying vacant since former PepsiCo chairman Indra Nooyi finished her three terms earlier this year.
BCCI’s cooling-off period
A major of Shah’s first term at the ICC will overlap with his cooling-off period of three years in the BCCI, which would have begun in September 2025. For those unversed, a person can be an office bearer in the Indian board for a cumulative period of 18 years with nine years in the board and an equal duration in the state unit. However, the constitution approved by the Supreme Court says that a person needs to go for a mandatory cooling-off period of three years after he has been in the BCCI or its unit of the state as an office holder for a consecutive six-year period.
(With PTI inputs)
