Sanjog Gupta named ICC's new CEO, to take charge with immediate effect

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday named Sanjog Gupta as its seventh chief executive officer (CEO), almost six months after Geoff Allardice had stepped down after a four-year stint at the global governing body for cricket.

 

Prior to the current role, Gupta was the CEO of the sports and live entertainment segment at JioStar, India’s largest media conglomerate. Ishan Chatterjee will replace him as the new CEO of sports at JioStar, according to a source in the know. He was earlier the chief business officer, sports revenue, SMB (small and medium businesses) and creator at JioStar.

 

Allardice had stepped down as the CEO of ICC after four years in January. This was followed by a global recruitment process launched by the ICC in March, which attracted over 2,500 applications from candidates across 25 countries. 

 

“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 two billion fans worldwide,” Gupta, the new CEO said in a statement. 

 

“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 or adoption could act as force-multipliers for the cricket movement around the world,” Gupta said.

 

He further added, “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.”

 

The ICC’s human resource and remuneration committee had reviewed and shortlisted 12 candidates, which was followed by the nominations committee unanimously recommending Gupta.

 

Jay Shah, chairman, ICC, subsequently approved the decision after further assessment and evaluation. 

 

“I am pleased to announce that 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,” Shah said in a statement.

 

“His deep understanding of the global sports as well as media and entertainment 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,” he said. 

 

Gupta brings with him over two decades of cross-functional experience and a proven expertise in building successful consumer franchises, ICC said in a statement. He started his journey as a journalist and joined Star India (now JioStar) in 2010. Over the years, he held multiple leadership roles in content, programming and strategy before becoming head of sports at Disney and Star India in 2020. The sports portfolio at Star India scaled across consumer and commercial objectives with emphasis on long-term growth and operational efficiency under his leadership, ICC stated in its statement. Additionally, Gupta played a crucial role in developing and executing multi-language, digital-first, and women-centric sports coverage.

 

This was followed by Gupta heading the sports division at JioStar in November 2024 after Viacom18 and Disney Star’s merger. 

 

At JioStar, he played an important role in scaling the growth of marquee cricket properties like ICC events and the Indian Premier League (IPL). He also worked on expanding the popularity of global sporting events such as the Premier League and Wimbledon and scaling the business across consumer and commercial objectives, apart from establishing domestic sports leagues like the PKL (Pro Kabaddi League) and ISL (Indian Super League), the statement said.