The ICC have been mocked on social media for posting a video supposedly celebrating the final day of the World Test Championship final that was instead dominated by footage of the organisation’s new chairman, Jay Shah.
The video opens with a shot of the Lord’s pavilion before cutting to a slo-mo of Shah walking into the ground. Shots of the two teams before the start of play are then followed by Shah in the stands, with the Indian administrator also shown in conversation with ECB chair Richard Thompson, standing and applauding as he steals a sly glance at the camera, and congratulating South Africa’s current and past players. In total, Shah features in 11 of the 23 shots used in the 45-second long video, the same number as champions South Africa.
The clip came in for derision on X for the hyper-focus on Shah, described as “beyond weird” by PA journalist Rory Dollard, while The Guardian’s Taha Hashim pointed out that Greg Barclay, Shah’s predecessor at the ICC, rarely received such treatment. “If you blink at the wrong time, you’ll miss the only shot of Pat Cummins” tweeted The Age’s Andrew Wu. “Jay Shah on the other hand…”
Shah, son of Amit, India’s minister of home affairs, took charge of the ICC at the start of December last year, bringing to an end a five-year stint as secretary of the BCCI. He was elected unopposed to his role at the ICC, and is considered one of the most powerful figures in world cricket. Last year, the Indian Express ranked Shah as India’s 35th most powerful person.
He has come in for criticism for a perceived love of the limelight before. He was accused of “stealing Team India’s moment” after joining a photoshoot with India captain Rohit Sharma following his side’s Champions trophy win earlier this year, an instance which also shone a light on a potential lack of neutrality.
“2024 was the year cricket gave up any claim to being properly administered,” wrote Wisden Almanack editor Lawrence Booth in his 2025 notes, remarking on Shah’s job switch atop the boards governing India and world cricket.
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