Jay Shah, the ICC chair and ex-secretary of the BCCI, has joined a new Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) advisory board, which will replace the club's world cricket committee.
Shah was a notable absentee when MCC staged the inaugural World Cricket Connects forum last year, which saw over 100 leading voices gather at Lord's to discuss the state of the global game. But he is among 13 founding members of the new World Cricket Connects advisory board, which will be chaired by former MCC president Kumar Sangakkara.
MCC announced on Thursday that the second World Cricket Connects forum will be staged on June 7 and 8, before Lord's hosts the World Test Championship final. MCC chair Mark Nicholas said: "We are looking forward to welcoming many of the game's most influential figures to debate the most important topics that dominate global cricket."
The new advisory board replaces the world cricket committee, which formed in 2006 and met for the final time last summer. Other founding members include Sourav Ganguly, Graeme Smith and Andrew Strauss, as well as England women's captain Heather Knight and JioStar's CEO (Sports), Sanjog Gupta.
"An important step has been made in the forming of the World Cricket Connects Advisory Board," Nicholas said. "We have assembled an impressive group of the best minds in cricket across several different areas relevant to our sport. I am delighted to be working with this experienced group and excited about what we can collectively achieve for the benefit of the global game."
The world cricket committee was an independent body which did not hold any formal power, but its recommendations have often been adopted by the ICC. These have included calls for a Decision Review System, the formation of a World Test Championship, the introduction of day-night Test cricket, and the use of a shot clock to improve slow over-rates,
The new advisory board will meet virtually throughout the year, and in person after the symposium at Lord's. MCC said: "This independent group will shape the annual World Cricket Connects agenda, help facilitate the event's discussions and in turn maximise the opportunity for genuine impact on the health of the game."
World Cricket Connects advisory board members: Kumar Sangakkara (chair), Anurag Dahiya (ICC chief commercial officer), Chris Dehring (CWI CEO), Sourav Ganguly, Sanjog Gupta (JioStar CEO - Sports), Mel Jones, Heather Knight, Trudy Lindblade (Cricket Scotland CEO), Heath Mills (World Cricketers' Association chair), Imtiaz Patel (Former SuperSport chair), Jay Shah, Graeme Smith, Andrew Strauss.