Following Geoff Allardice's resignation following a stint characterized by attempts to broaden cricket's worldwide appeal, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has named Sanjog Gupta as its next CEO.

Gupta, a well-known personality in digital strategy and sports broadcasting, comes to the ICC from JioStar, where he was CEO of Sports.

For the sport's governing body, which wants to expand cricket's commercial footprint in a changing media landscape and break into new markets, his hiring comes at a critical juncture.

“I am pleased to announce that Sanjog Gupta has been appointed as the CEO of the ICC,” said ICC Chairman Jay Shah. 

“Sanjog brings extensive experience in sports strategy and commercialisation, which will be invaluable for the ICC. 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.”

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“We considered several exceptional candidates for this position, but the Nominations Committee unanimously recommended Sanjog. The ICC Board Directors look forward to working closely with him, and I would like to welcome him on behalf of everyone at the ICC,” he added.

The appointment comes after a global hiring campaign that attracted over 2,500 applications from 25 countries when it was launched in March.

 

Senior leaders from many companies and executives from sports governing bodies were among the candidates. 

Twelve selected applicants were examined by a Nominations Committee made up of ICC Deputy Chair Imran Khwaja, ECB Chair Richard Thompson, SLC President Shammi Silva, and BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia following a comprehensive assessment by the ICC's HR & Remuneration Committee. The whole ICC Board unanimously endorsed and subsequently approved Gupta.

Sports media has had a significant role in Gupta's career. He started out as a content producer at Disney Star in 2009 and worked his way up to Head of Sports, where he significantly influenced IPL broadcasts and increased digital coverage. Between 2015 and 2020, he also held a number of key leadership positions at Star Sports, where he oversaw strategy and programming during a time when Indian sports viewership was rapidly increasing. He most recently served as CEO of Sports at the Reliance-Disney joint venture before joining Star TV Network as Head of Sports in 2020.

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Geoff Allardice, who joined the ICC in 2012 and became CEO in 2021, said, “It has been a privilege to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the International Cricket Council. I am incredibly proud of the results we have achieved… I believe this is the right time for me to step down and pursue new challenges.”