The former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has slammed those who have criticized the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jay Shah, because of having a political agenda. The veteran feels that Shah doesn’t often get the right credit for the growth of Indian cricket including making the rule of equal pay for both Men’s and Women’s cricket.
When India won the recent Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, getting the better of the South Africa side, at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Jay Shah was there as he put the Indian flag on the soil of the country.
The way Indian cricket has grown up because of having excellent ground facilities, so much exposure for the players, and not needing to think about their financial structure, all the credit should go to Jay Shah as he has also appointed some of the biggest names in Indian cricket at the crucial junctures.
Before Rahul Dravid became the head coach of the Indian team, he was associated with the Under-19 players, and that helped those young row blood to get so much experience at the start of their careers. The National Cricket Academy has always been a huge step towards success for the team, as the players could come and work on their fitness at any time, as VVS Laxman is the director of the academy.
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‘Many people criticize Jay Shah, focusing on his father’s political position’- Sunil Gavaskar
Jay Shah began his career in cricket administration with the Gujrat Cricket Association before joining BCCI in 2015 and later was eventually selected as the board secretary in 2019.
The former India opening batter Sunil Gavaskar has spoken about the critics that Jay Shah gets targeted on an unfair basis only because of being the son of India’s home minister Amit Shah.
The veteran batter from Mumbai feels that he is doing an outstanding job for India, and that will only grow them more in the upcoming years on the world map.
‘Look, I think the quality of governance has always been such that they’ve aimed to promote Indian cricket.’ Sunil Gavaskar, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters to play the game, interacted with ‘India Today’. “There will always be the occasional individual who might be a bit disappointing. But I think what the current leadership has done is quite outstanding.’
He also elaborated on the fact that what Jay Shah has done, by launching the Women’s Premier League (WPL), in 2023 has been incredible, and it will provide the young girls of the country more exposure to high-quality cricket.
Jay Shah also increased the fees of the IPL players.
‘Many people criticize Jay Shah, focusing on his father’s political position rather than his contributions.’ 74-year-old Sunil Gavaskar expressed during the interview. ‘However, what Jay Shah has achieved- like bringing in the Women’s Premier League, ensuring equal pay for the Women’s team as the Men’s, increasing fees for IPL players, and significantly boosting incentives- is commendable. Unfortunately, some refuse to give him credit due to a political agenda.’
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Gavaskar also claimed that it’s not ideal all the time to have a former cricketer running these daily affairs in the BCCI.
‘From my experience, those who genuinely love cricket often do more for Indian cricket than those who have played it. This might be surprising, but people who are passionate about the game, even if they haven’t played at the highest level, tend to contribute more effectively when guided properly.’ The former India captain admitted. ‘Conversely, some former players sometimes remain fixated on their era, resisting changes that benefit the current generation.’
However, he concludes by saying even though the former cricketers have been valuable in-game rules or the development of the Ranji Trophy circuit, these affairs in the BCCI are the job of the experts.
