At CNN-News18’s Indian of the Year function in New Delhi, ICC chairman Jay Shah was recently presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award for his services to Indian cricket. Jay Shah choices and long-term influence on Indian cricket, particularly women’s cricket, during his tenure as BCCI Secretary from October 2019 to December 2024 were acknowledged with this award.
Jay Shah was instrumental in shaping contemporary Indian cricket before to assuming leadership as ICC Chairman in December 2024. During his time as BCCI Secretary, significant commercial achievements, historic policies, and structural improvements were implemented. The Women’s Premier League (WPL), the establishment of pay parity for male and female cricket players, and the conclusion of a huge INR 50,000 crore media rights agreement were the most noteworthy of them.
The award honours these efforts, many of which are now the basis for India’s recent on-field achievements, like as the Indian women’s team’s victory in the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup.
Jay Shah dedicated the prize to Indian women’s cricket and the players who spurred these changes while accepting it.
Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Mithali Raj were in attendance. He praised the women’s team for improving all performance metrics.
Jay Shah then gave some thought to his five years as the secretary of the BCCI. He claimed that bolstering the local cricket framework was the first step in the decisions that transformed Indian cricket. During his tenure, cricket at the state and grassroots levels benefited from greater funding and facilities, which strengthened talent pipelines.
The building of the new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru was a central theme of his address. The cutting-edge facility, which is more than 20 lakh square feet in size, features pitches that are modelled after those in key cricketing nations like England, South Africa, and Australia. Shah pointed out that by providing players with more realistic training situations, these facilities have improved India’s results abroad.
Shah did, however, stress that the WPL and wage equity are the two issues that he still feels strongly about. He claimed that these rulings were crucial in providing women cricket players with the respect and opportunity they so richly deserve. India’s women are now able to meet international standards and have access to more professional opportunities as a result of the WPL’s success.
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