Sanjog Gupta appointed as the new ICC Chief Executive as he replaces Geoff Allardice, who stepped down earlier this year.
Geoff Allardice, who resigned from his position in January of this year after taking over in an interim capacity in 2020 and then on a full-time basis in 2021, will be replaced as the seventh CEO of the ICC on July 7 by Sanjog Gupta, who is currently the CEO, sports and live experiences at JioStar.
“I am pleased to announce that Sanjog Gupta has been appointed as the CEO of the ICC. Sanjog brings extensive experience in sports strategy and commercialisation, which will be invaluable for the ICC,” Jay Shah, the ICC chairman, said in a statement. “His deep understanding of the global sports as well as M&E landscape combined with his continued curiosity about the cricket fan’s perspective and passion for technology will prove essential in our ambition to grow the game in the coming years.
“Our goal is to move beyond traditional boundaries and establish cricket as a regular sport in the Olympics, growing its expanse across the world and deepening its roots in its core markets.”
Gupta’s appointment follows what the ICC called “a global recruitment process”, that was set in motion in March this year. “The role attracted over 2500 applications from candidates across 25 countries, reflecting the international appeal and significance of the position,” the ICC said. “Candidates ranged from leaders associated with sport’s governing bodies to senior corporate executives from across sectors.”
A nominations committee consisting of ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja, ECB chair Richard Thompson, SLC president Shammi Silva, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia performed the next step of the process after 12 candidates were shortlisted, according to the ICC, and unanimously recommended Gupta. “After further assessment and evaluation, after which it was ratified by the full ICC Board,” Shah later authorised this.
“It is a privilege to have this opportunity, especially at a time when cricket is poised for unprecedented growth and enjoys the passionate support of almost 2 billion fans worldwide,” Gupta said. “These are exciting times for the sport as marquee events grow in stature, commercial avenues widen and opportunities such as the women’s game scale in popularity. Cricket’s inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and the rapid acceleration of technology deployment/adoption could act as force-multipliers for the Cricket movement around the world.”