You have taken Indian cricket and its administration to number one in the world. How did you conceive this when you started and how did you achieve this?
Not many people are aware of my background. I started my career in 2009 with the Central Board of Cricket in Ahmedabad. I was just 21. After taking over as an executive member of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), I decided that players should be taken care of. We ensured nutritious food, good infrastructure and transparent selection. By 2013, I got elected as joint secretary of the board. Between 2009 and 2019, before joining BCCI, we won our maiden Ranji Trophy; we won two Syed Mushtaq Ali trophies and one Vijay Hazare Trophy. If you provide the best facilities and good coaches and infrastructure, you can achieve anything. After that, I became a finance committee member and a marketing committee member in BCCI. This enhanced my learning curve. In 2019, colleagues encouraged me to contest for the post of BCCI secretary.
I did the same thing in BCCI. By 2022, we became number one in all formats. In 2008, the government allocated land to the National Cricket Academy. Fortunately, I got a chance to work on it. We worked hard. We have just inaugurated the new centre of excellence. For us, mental space, food and world-class training are paramount. We started a national talent search. Jasprit Bumrah came out of GCA’s talent search. We went to small towns. Axar Patel is from Nadiad, a very small town. So, as an administrator, cricket is everything for us. But I also make it a point to appoint good cricketers such as V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid and entrust them with the task of hunting for talent and bringing them to Team India.
Most consider Jay Shah the most influential administrator in cricket in India and the world. Do you agree?
I do not agree. I do not believe in influence. I believe in my hard work. And that is why I am getting the results.
You have successfully navigated a lot of things. Covid, pay parity and broadcasting rights. What do you consider as the biggest success during this tenure?
On March 25, 2020, the national lockdown began. People were frustrated. I thought we needed to do something for the country. The entire world was shut. French Open was called off, Wimbledon was called off, and EPL was called off. All sports stopped. Considering the population, we could not have had the tournament here with Covid restrictions. One week after the lockdown, I reached out to authorities in the UAE to hold the IPL. They said yes and promised to provide full support for visa, insurance, etc. We created the largest bio-bubble in the world in which we conducted 30,000-odd tests. Not a single positive case was detected in the bio-bubble. If we would not have held the IPL, so many young boys who required money wouldn’t have been able to earn it.
I was surprised at the pay disparity between men and women players when I joined the Board. I decided, and people welcomed the decision, to enhance payment to women players to ₹15 lakh in Test, ₹6 lakh in ODI and ₹3 lakh in T20 from ₹1 lakh per T20/ODI match and ₹2.50 lakh per Test earlier. The match fees are now at par with men’s players. Players also receive annual contract amounts of ₹50 lakh in Grade A, ₹30 lakh in Grade B and ₹10 lakh in Grade C. Apart from these payments, the launch of WPL has turned a corner as we have witnessed contracts worth crores.
What is the biggest success during your stint?
I cannot tell you about my success. But pay parity and WPL were my biggest decisions.
What is the unfinished agenda at BCCI?
I am very satisfied with my five-year term. Right now, we are in Narendra Modi stadium. My vision is to make all the stadiums in the country like this one. Chennai and Pune stadiums are world-class. Stadiums in Mumbai are improving. Money being generated from cricket is being spent on infrastructure and players.
My vision is to build smart stadiums across the country. We have financial constraints but are working hard to implement it. We are already in discussion with all big companies like Hitachi and Cisco to start smart stadiums all over the country.
Is this in the larger context of Olympics and cricket as part of larger sports infrastructure or largely from a cricket point of view?
100%. I am also part of the Olympic Committee as far as cricket is concerned. In 2028, we are going to participate in Los Angeles. If the Olympics take place in Ahmedabad in 2036, cricket has to be there as it is our primary sport where we can get a medal.
You take charge at ICC in December. What will be your top priorities?
Strengthening Test cricket and addressing governance like I did in BCCI will be key areas to begin with. I will set up a system where all the countries get an equal chance to participate and perform.
Where do you see Indian cricket in next 10-20 years?
The potential in Indian cricket is enormous and the talent pool is massive. Our efforts are currently underway to promote and nurture the sport in the North East and I am sure that very soon we will have talented cricketers emerging from there. I envisage a strong Team India both in men’s and women’s cricket which will be able to showcase its skills in all three formats of the game.
What are the factors behind BCCI’s financial success?
One needs to focus on infrastructure and the players. Money is secondary. The top priority is performance. If you improve the grassroots structure, infrastructure and performance of the players, money follows. In 2022, we were number one in all formats. In IPL, foreign players play because our franchises look after them very well.
How do you allocate funds that BCCI earns? What are the changes you have brought in the way these funds are utilised not just for infrastructure but overall cricket ecosystem?
As much as 70% of BCCI earnings go to state associations with which they take care of the players and the infrastructure. They are the ones running grassroots cricket and talent search. They are providing funds to women’s cricket. So, whatever BCCI earns, we are spending only on cricket.
Unbundling of broadcast rights into TV and digital was a smart move to expand the revenue basket. How did it come about? What could be the next such moves?
We roped in advisors from the Big Four. Good ideas are always welcome. The overall IPL deal (₹48,390.5 crore) for the 2023-27 cycle is 196% higher than the previous IPL rights deal (2018-22) of ₹16,347.5 crore(1). The value of per IPL match (₹118.02 crore approximately) has doubled from the previous rights deal of ₹54.49 crore per match.
We split digital out of TV and the digital rights have exceeded the value of TV and we had clearly anticipated this. India is riding a wave of digital transformation and the IPL has been a witness to this exciting journey. The digital rights in this cycle have outbid the consolidated rights in the previous cycle and that tells you the big impact unbundling has played.
What is the guidance on broadcasting rights of IPL?
Indian broadcasting rights will always remain among the most-sought after content in the world of sports. Digital may outscore linear in terms of number of users and overall viewership. I see a really bright future for broadcasters here and a high valuation for broadcasting rights(2) in India.
Do you see IPL becoming the world’s most valued sporting property?
100%. Though not before 2027 as we have TV rights till 2027(3). But post-2027, I am sure it will become the largest sport in the world. Right now, we are number two.
Do you think BCCI should have a super six version of IPL? Is that being thought about? Are you looking at innovations? What could be the steps to take IPL to the next level?
As an administrator, getting money out of everything is not my motive. For me, consistency is also very important. I do not want to do anything that can be detrimental to the teams and the league.
Mega IPL auction is coming. Are there any surprises regarding player retentions? Have you discussed this with the franchises?
This question is for franchises(4) and not me. All I can say is that before deciding, we have had a very good discussion with all the teams. I am glad to inform you that after we made the retention rule, I got SMSes, texts and emails from franchise owners that all are happy.
At BCCI, you helped out other boards earn revenue from tournaments. Any recent example of rescue of a foreign board?
India can visit any country from Ireland to Australia. Australia is a very good team, but I am visiting Australia every third year. I am going to Sri Lanka every alternate year because they need improvement.
I am going to Zimbabwe every alternate year. Regarding the rescue, we host Afghanistan in India, and we just hosted Nepal in New Delhi. We are working hard to develop cricket all over the world. We are the world leader. For us, growth of other cricketing nations and boards is important. Good competition enhances earnings opportunities. We redeploy it on the players.
What is the revenue potential and outlook for WPL?
We did not start WPL to earn money. Fortunately, the way we created the brand and the way the girls played; we have the same sponsors in WPL and IPL. We have Tata and CEAT. We have many common sponsors. They also believe in the brand. In the last WPL in Bangalore, we had an average crowd of 25,000 in the stadium; it was 30,000 in Delhi. That is the power of our brand.
One of the cultures you have brought is ‘playing to win’. What prompted you to adopt this philosophy?
First, you need to give consistency to the players. If they are losing one or two games, you cannot reprimand them. You have to instil confidence in them. Rohit Sharma, for example, was out of T20 for one year before he was selected the captain. He was not even a franchise captain. But I found that he is a good person and a good skipper. So, we decided to give him one more chance. In 2023, after winning ten straight games, we lost the World Cup final. We won hearts but not the final. I was pretty sure that Rohit is the only one who could win the trophy for us. So, I said, we are going to win hearts as well as the trophy. Finally, Rohit Sharma hoisted the flag in Barbados.
Yes, you had forecast that. What gave you the confidence? What did you see in him?
As a sports lover and administrator, I can tell you that to get a good captain, you have to get a good person also. The captain has to think about all the players and that is the merit Rohit has.
What are the initiatives being taken at the grassroots level? Could you take us through details of what has been done at state cricket association level to make them bigger and more muscular?
We have a few examples in our team also: such as Jasprit Bumrah. We all know the background of Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal. That is the answer to your question. We will get so many more examples in the future. That is the kind of work we want to do.
How does BCCI intend to bring sponsor and advertising interest in other domestic tournaments?
If you look at our sponsorship deal, it is a combo package. The moment we get them on board for bilateral series, they also get domestic tournaments. And revenues from broadcast rights are being spent on the players. If they bid for the bilateral, they can get women’s international and domestic tournaments also. We have a system where you will get more value out of it. If you unbundle it and fail, it will be detrimental. Ultimately, IPL is also a domestic game. We are getting more in domestic than internationals.
Between yourself and Mr. (Roger) Binny, how do you allocate responsibilities?
Mr. Binny is such a prominent cricketer. I get advice from him on the game. I look after finance and marketing. It is a great bond. BCCI is a consortium of cricket, finance and marketing. I am getting knowledge from Mr. Binny and I am working hard in finance and marketing. It is a great combination.
Has any other sports body consulted you for creating an IPL-like structure?
They have not approached me for building an IPL-like structure in their sport. They consult regarding the professionalism of the game. I am advising them.
Current government has taken a lot of new initiatives (in sports)? We have seen how infrastructure has panned out in last few years. What are the policy interventions needed to make India a sporting nation?
The current government is working fantastically. They are keen to host the 2036 Olympics in India and are working towards it. Khelo India and its domestic structure will do a fantastic job. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) has been a game-changer. It has helped realise India’s Olympic dreams by providing technical support, assistance, equipment, stipend and coaching fees to help our athletes train in the best manner possible. Athletes like P.V. Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Niraj Chopra have all benefitted from the scheme. The BCCI has always supported the Olympians, and we will continue to do it. Whenever our support is needed, we will provide it.
How is BCCI planning to expand the reach of cricket?
The BCCI realises its position as the world’s biggest cricket Board and it leads from the front when it comes to developing and promoting the game. Right from grassroots to international, the BCCI has been at the forefront in growing the game and making it more lucrative for all its key stakeholders. We open our facilities and let foreign teams where infrastructure is still not in place come here and practice. Team India travels around the world to play bilateral cricket and as you know that any Board that hosts us makes highest revenue in terms of media rights. Our cricketers too understand this and have always shared their knowledge, experience and expertise with younger cricketers. We will continue to invest in infrastructure and take the game to every nook and corner of the country.
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Cricket is dominated by few competitive teams. That is its biggest challenge as a global sport. I am sure that is playing on your mind when you are looking at ICC. How can cricket truly evolve from India, England, Australia hegemony and be followed globally with strong teams?
You saw the last T20 World Cup. Afghanistan was in semi-finals. Australia was not there. We beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in T20, and they beat us 2-0 in ODI. That is the great game of cricket. New Zealand never beat us on Indian soil but did that just now. That is the beauty of the game. South Africa was in the women’s final just recently. They were runners-up against us also. South Africa was in the semi-finals in the 2023 World Cup. And South Africa was also in the finals in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. All the teams are doing well. Right now, the way the teams are evolving, any team can beat any team.
Is there any way cricket can help in the bid for 2036?
100%. I am sure we will secure a medal in 2028. I am optimistic we will get gold. Also, if you want to have the tournament in India, without cricket, it is not possible. Olympics will come to India through cricket only; that is for sure. Last time, if you recall, we did a good job in hockey also. Hockey may be the game changer. We did well in shooting also.
Is there anything on your mind on ICC financials, reach and revenue mix? What will be the first few steps that you would like to take at ICC?
Right now, we have the men’s ICC tournament every year and the men’s WTC Final every alternate year. For me, supporting a good team and strengthening the average team is very important. If all the teams become strong, money will come.
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Is BCCI optimally leveraging its financial strength?
If you strengthen cricket, money will be a by-product. If you play well, you will get good money, and if you do not play well, you will get less money. That is my philosophy and work ethic.