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Future of India-Pakistan cricketing relations expected to dominate Jay Shah's first ICC Annual Conference as Chairman
The global governing body's Annual General Meeting, also known as the ICC Annual Conference, will be taking place from 17 to 20 July in Singapore and will be the first since former BCCI secretary Jay Shah assumed charge as Chairman on 1 December. read more
Jay Shah will be attending his first ICC Annual Conference since becoming the youngest ICC Chairman in December. PTI
It's been nearly six months since Jay Shah took charge of the International Cricket Council as chairman, succeeding New Zealand's Greg Barclay and becoming the youngest person to occupy the post at the age of 36. Since then, overseeing the return of the Champions Trophy after an eight-year hiatus in the months of February and March has been among the highlights of the former BCCI secretary's tenure.
And a couple of months from now, he will be chairing his first Annual General Meeting at the global governing body for cricket, with the ICC Annual Conference set to take place in Singapore from 17 to 20 July, according to Cricbuzz.
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Future of India-Pakistan matches the top agenda in upcoming ICC AGM
The ICC Annual Conference will be taking place a little over a couple of months after a military showdown between India and Pakistan, which was the result of the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and had brought the ongoing seasons of the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League to a standstill for a week.
The BCCI has been advised to sever all cricketing ties with the Pakistan Cricket Board going forward, meaning India will not be facing arch-rivals Pakistan in ICC and ACC events either across all categories of the sport.
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And though secretary Devajit Saikia denied reports of the Indian board withdrawing from the upcoming Asia Cup and other continental events on Monday, there's a good chance the rumours might come true in the coming months.
The future of India-Pakistan cricketing relations thus is expected to be the biggest talking point in the AGM and the ICC will be playing a key role in handling the situation going forward.
Also likely to be discussed at the Annual Conference is the future of displayed female cricketers from Afghanistan, with Shah having recently announced the formation of a 'dedicated task force' that aimed to support these cricketers.
The Dubai-based governing body for the sport is also expected to form a working group address key issues such as tweaking the two-ball rule in One-Day Internationals and holding the U-19 World Cup in the T20 format.
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