diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/icu/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/icu/default.nix
index b2f2f7a083f6..12628e4c53db 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/icu/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/icu/default.nix
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     echo Source root reset to ''${sourceRoot}
   '';
 
+  preConfigure = ''
+    sed -i -e "s|/bin/sh|${stdenv.shell}|" configure
+  '';
+
   configureFlags = "--disable-debug";
 
   enableParallelBuilding = true;