What clinched the deal for Sanjog Gupta to make it as the new CEO of ICC?

The appointment of Sanjog Gupta, a respected figure in global media & entertainment and sports ecosystem, as the seventh CEO of International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday, 7 July, is a significant index of the direction the sport is headed to in future. While it reinforces the control of India in the upper echelons of the world governing body with Jay Shah at the helm, it also underlines the importance of the broadcasting economics in cricket.

It had been less than a year that Gupta was appointed as the CEO of Jio Star Sports in November 2024 following the merger of Viacom18 and Disney Star to form a new sports media entity – which incidentally holds the broadcasting rights of all ICC products till 2031. Industry watchers feel it’s hence a no brainer that Gupta, who started his career as a journalist with Star Sports back in 2010, is expected to carry forward the interests of this merged behemoth.

As Gupta replaces the last incumbent, Geoff Allardice of Australia from Tuesday, the succession plan for him looked ready with Ishan Chatterjee, Chief Business Officer of sports revenue at Jio Star to head their sports business and digital. The choice of Gupta as ICC CEO, following a global recruitment process since March which saw ‘2500 applicants from 25 countries,’ has clearly placed a premium on the domain knowledge of broadcasting rights – ICC’s primary money spinner – what with cricket making a headway in Olympics from Los Angeles 2028.

Speaking in a ICC press release, 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.

 “I look forward to contributing to the next phase of cricket’s evolution, expanding its global footprint, enhancing the fan experience and working closely with ICC Member Boards to build on our strong foundations,” said Gupta, known to be quite a workaholic.

Welcoming Gupta in the ICC family, chairman Jay Shah said: “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.’’

The ICC CEO’s position, based out of their headquarters at the Dubai Sports City, is like that of an executive head with the chairman in attendance only for board meetings or any other designated events. Manu Sawhney, the lone Indian to occupy the seat between 2019 and 2021, was also from marketing and broadcasting background while former South African wicketkeeper Dave Richardson served for seven years from 2012 to 2019.  

Gupta, who became Head of Sports at Disney & Star India in 2020,  has played a pivotal role in shaping the growth of marquee properties such as ICC events & IPL, apart from establishing domestic sports leagues like Pro Kabbaddi League (PKL) and Indian Super League (ISL) and furthering the popularity of global sporting events such as English Premier League and Wimbledon.

It will be hence a challenging task for Gupta, along with the ICC, to re-energise international cricket at a time when the sport is threatened by an overkill and a global surge in domestic leagues.