India’s Jay Shah starts term as world cricket boss

This handout photo, released by the International Cricket Council on November 1, 2024, shows India’s Jay Shah, the newly appointed chairman of the cricket body. (Photo courtesy: ICC)
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Updated 01 December 2024
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India’s Jay Shah starts term as world cricket boss

  • The son of India’s powerful home minister Amit Shah was elected unopposed by the sport’s world body in August
  • Shah, the youngest person ever to hold the position, succeeds Greg Barclay, who decided not to seek a third term

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket boss Jay Shah began Sunday his tenure as chairman of the International Cricket Council, saying he looked forward to taking the sport to “new heights.”
The son of India’s powerful home minister Amit Shah was elected unopposed by the sport’s world body in August and succeeds Greg Barclay, who decided not to seek a third term.
At 36, he is the youngest person ever to hold the position.
“Cricket holds immense potential globally, and I look forward to working closely with the ICC team and Member countries to seize these opportunities and take the sport to new heights,” Shah said in a statement.
He said it was an “exciting” time for the sport with preparations underway for the 2028 Olympics and working to “make cricket more inclusive and engaging for fans worldwide.”
“We are at a critical juncture with the coexistence of multiple formats and the need to accelerate the growth of the women’s game,” he added.
From being the chief of the world’s richest cricket board to leading the ICC, Shah’s meteoric rise illustrates India’s domination of the sport’s global administration.
In a country where the sport and politics go hand in glove, Shah is best known for being the son of Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-hand man Amit Shah.
The ICC is the global governing body for cricket, with more than 100 members, and is responsible for staging global events such as the World Cup.
Shah’s start at his new job comes at a crucial time, with the fate of next year’s Champions Trophy hanging in the balance after India refused to travel to host nation Pakistan.
Sources from the ICC told AFP earlier this week that talks to settle the dispute were still ongoing.


Undefeated boxing great Terence Crawford announces retirement

Updated 17 December 2025
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Undefeated boxing great Terence Crawford announces retirement

  • Crawford, (42-0, 31 knockouts), retires as the reigning WBA, IBF and WBO supermiddleweight champion after defeating Alvarez by unanimous decision in a masterful performance
  • Crawford’s career straddled three different decades, with the southpaw making his professional debut in 2008 and rapidly becoming one of boxing’s brightest talents

LOS ANGELES: Undefeated world super middleweight champion Terence Crawford announced his retirement from boxing on Tuesday, hanging up his gloves three months after a career-defining victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

The 38-year-old from Nebraska, who dominated Mexican legend Alvarez in Las Vegas in September to claim the undisputed super middleweight crown, announced his decision in a video posted on social media.

“I’m stepping away from competition, not because I’m done fighting, but because I’ve won a different type of battle,” Crawford said in his retirement message. “The one where you walk away on your own terms.”

Crawford, (42-0, 31 knockouts), retires as the reigning WBA, IBF and WBO supermiddleweight champion after defeating Alvarez by unanimous decision in a masterful performance.

Crawford had also held the WBC super middleweight belt, but was stripped of it earlier this month following a dispute over sanctioning fees.

Speaking in his video, Crawford said his career had been driven by a desire to keep “proving everyone wrong.”

“Every fighter knows this moment will come, we just never know when,” Crawford said.

“I spent my whole life chasing something. Not belts, not money, not headlines. But that feeling, the one you get when the world doubts you but you keep showing up and you keep proving everyone wrong.”

“I fought for my family. I fought for my city. I fought for the kid I used to be, the one who had nothing but a dream and a pair of gloves. And I did it all my way. I gave this sport every breath I had.”

Crawford’s career straddled three different decades, with the southpaw making his professional debut in 2008 and rapidly becoming one of boxing’s brightest talents.

He won his maiden world title, the WBO lightweight crown, with victory over Scotland’s Ricky Burns in 2014.

Crawford won 18 world titles in five weight classes, culminating in his win over Alvarez.

He retires having never been officially knocked down in a fight.

All of his 42 victories have come by way of unanimous decision or stoppage, with no judge ever scoring in favor of an opponent during his career.