Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah was unanimously elected as the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Saturday (January 30).

The 32-year-old replaced Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief Nazmul Hasan Papon. The position is rotated among the full members of the Asian boards every two years.

ACC is primarily responsible for organising the Asia Cup tournaments. The 2020 edition of the Asia Cup was postponed to June 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pakistan were to originally host the tournament but it is now expected to be held in either Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.

The newly-elected ACC President, Jay Shah said: “I accept this honour and I thank my esteemed colleagues at the BCCI for nominating me and considering me worthy of this prestigious position. Formed with a view to organize, develop and promote the sport in the region, the ACC has steadily grown in stature. The ACC continues to foster healthy rivalry among some of the biggest cricket playing nations while it also takes the sport deeper into the smaller pockets. We must remain committed to this cause and ensure there is an all-round development in the region.”

BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly said: “I congratulate Mr Jay Shah for being appointed the new ACC President. We have worked closely, and I am well aware of his plans and vision to develop the game of cricket. I have personally experienced the zeal with which he worked to bring a turnaround in Chandigarh, Uttarakhand and North-eastern states in setting up the cricketing infrastructure and setting up the ecosystem. It is definitely a challenging phase, but I am confident he will successfully navigate the challenges posed by the virus. The BCCI will extend every help and will play a big role in rebuilding and restructuring of the cricketing activities in Asia.”

(With PTI inputs)