In sports, photographers are there to capture pictures of games, players and key moments. The most important ones are those of the players celebrating. These are mostly ones seeing teams win a competition. It's therefore unnecessary for any officials to be part of them. Cricket's governing body, The International Cricket Council (ICC) clearly didn't get that memo. This is because their chairman, Jay Shah, was captured multiple times while the South Africa vs. Australia Test was going on. As a result, people have criticised this action.
Celebrating the victory, ICC uploaded a 45-second video on Monday on X recapping South Africa’s first world title win but it has been criticised by a few. Journalists and fans criticised the ICC for focussing on chairman, Jay Shah, more than highlighting the memorable moments from a historic match.
"Beyond weird," a journalist remarked while sharing the video. "Who said India didn’t play the final?" a fan asked. The video opens with a shot of the Lord’s pavilion before cutting to a slo-mo of Shah walking into the ground. Shots of the two teams before the start of play are then followed by Shah in the stands, with the Indian administrator also shown in conversation with ECB chair, Richard Thompson, standing and applauding as he steals a sly glance at the camera and congratulating South Africa’s current and past players. In total, Shah features in 11 of the 23 shots used in the 45-second long video, the same number as champions South Africa.
In contrast, Player of the Match, Aiden Markram, was shown just twice while Australian captain, Pat Cummins, appeared only briefly. South Africa's winning captain, Temba Bavuma, featured five times - fewer than half of Shah's appearances.
"How many runs did Jay Shah score in this final? How many wickets?" asked Sri Lankan journalist, Andrew Fidel Fernando, capturing the prevailing sentiment. Indian reporter, Kuldip Lal, called the video "unbelievable," while British analyst, Aatif Nawaz, quipped it appeared "self-edited on a mobile phone" by Shah himself.
Other users also questioned the ICC’s intent, calling it a highlight reel for Shah rather than the World Test Championship. One user went as far as demanding Jay Shah’s resignation, calling the video unprofessional.
The editorial choices seemed particularly misguided given the match's drama.
Kagiso Rabada's nine-wicket match haul and Markram's fourth-innings century - both pivotal to South Africa's maiden Test championship title - received less emphasis than Shah adjusting his jacket.
"Blink during this video and you'll miss Cummins completely — but Jay Shah? Impossible," noted Australian journalist, Andrew Wu.
UAE-based sports writer, Paul Radley, observed the video made it appear "Jay Shah was player of the match," while UK journalist, Charlie Reynolds, pointed out Shah's 11 appearances matched the combined screen time given to South Africa's entire team.
The clip came in for derision on X for the hyper-focus on Shah, described as "beyond weird" by PA journalist, Rory Dollard, while The Guardian’s Taha Hashim pointed out that Greg Barclay, Shah’s predecessor at the ICC, rarely received such treatment.
He has come in for criticism for a perceived love of the limelight before. He was accused of "stealing Team India’s moment" after joining a photoshoot with India captain, Rohit Sharma, following his side’s Champions Trophy win earlier this year; an instance which also shone a light on a potential lack of neutrality.
"2024 was the year cricket gave up any claim to being properly administered," wrote Wisden Almanack editor Lawrence Booth in his 2025 notes, remarking on Shah’s job switch atop the boards governing India and world cricket.
The controversy also follows other questionable ICC decisions under Shah's leadership, including last year's Champions Trophy relocation and an increasingly India-centric tournament schedule. Notably, the ICC social media team had days earlier posted a separate video focused solely on Shah's activities at Lord's during the opening day of the final.
This whole situation is crazy and outrageous. I don't see any proper reasoning behind Shah being the centre of everything. He already holds a powerful position. There's zero need for some extra attention. The only thing I can think of is that Shah loves the limelight, as stated above. He wants to be more important than a result; one that could make history.
I think that this story is a clear and concise example of power corrupting a person. I'm not in a position to do so but Shah seems to exhibit signs of sociopathy. The craving for attention is a solid piece of evidence.
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