'Under The Yoke Of India': Jay Shah Warned By His Predecessor Against Keeping Cricket Under Control

Outgoing ICC Chairman Greg Barclay has expressed his confidence in Jay Shah's ability to revitalize the sport of cricket, which is currently facing turbulent times. However, Barclay also sounded a note of caution, advising Shah to avoid allowing cricket to become dominated by India.

Greg Barclay, who stepped down as ICC Chairman on December 1 after a four-year tenure, acknowledged that the sport is navigating a period of crisis. The ICC is currently grappling with the controversy surrounding the venues for the Champions Trophy.

Greg Barclay wants Jay Shah to allow other members to flourish alongside India

Despite the challenges, Greg Barclay believes that Jay Shah has the potential to bring about positive change and elevate the sport to new heights. However, Barclay emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance and ensuring that the interests of all member countries are represented, rather than allowing any one nation to exert undue influence over the sport.

"I think he (Shah) has got a great opportunity to use what he's got in his background to help India take the game to another level, but without making it sort of under the yoke of India as well," Barclay was quoted as saying by 'The Telegraph'.

"We're really lucky to have India, they're a massive contributor to the game across all the measures, but one country having that amount of power and influence does distort a whole lot of other outcomes, which is not necessarily helpful in terms of that global growth." He said Shah has the ability to bring India into the international fold even more.

"There are a number of things that India could do to help unite and grow the game, including commercially helping to pool off-shore rights, using their teams to give opportunity to smaller full members and emerging countries, using their clout to open new territories and markets, collaborating closely with the ICC to help benefit members, as examples," he said.

Greg Barclay admitted that presently there is an overkill of cricket and at times he even lost track of the congested international calendar.

"I reckon, gee, I'm at the apex of the game and I can't tell you who's playing around the world. In fact, I didn't realise that Sri Lanka were in South Africa until I read about Marco Jansen's seven wickets this morning," Barclay said. "So we've lost perspective. It's not great for the game at all. It's a mess. The calendar is incredibly congested and self-interest is such that it's almost impossible to untangle all of that, because no one's going to give up their content," he said.

(With PTI inputs)

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