Jay Shah’s Blunt Reminder To Pakistan, Bangladesh Over Boycott Drama In T20 Word Cup

Mumbai, March 15: The T20 World Cup 2026 witnessed unprecedented scenes as Bangladesh were forced out of the tournament after refusing to travel to India over alleged “security concerns.” Despite receiving assurances from the International Cricket Council (ICC), Bangladesh stood firm on their stance and were replaced by Scotland. Later, in solidarity with Bangladesh, Pakistan threatened to boycott their group-stage match against India before eventually making a U-turn. ICC chairman Jay Shah, who had remained silent during the controversies, has now spoken about the pre-tournament drama.

Speaking at the Indian Business Leader Awards in Mumbai, Shah revealed how the entire tournament’s fate was jeopardised by the dilemma surrounding certain teams’ participation. As the head of cricket’s global governing body, he stressed the importance of asserting that “no team is bigger than the organisation.”

“This ICC World Cup was very important because there was a lot of chatter before the start of the tournament about whether certain teams would participate and how the World Cup would go ahead. As ICC chairman, I can say that no team is bigger than the organisation and no single team makes an organisation. An organisation is a combination of all teams,” Shah said during the award function, without naming Bangladesh or Pakistan.

Shah also highlighted the grand success of the T20 World Cup 2026, which shattered viewership records, with 7.2 million concurrent viewers reportedly tuning in.

“The World Cup has shattered all viewership records. For the first time in history, we recorded 7.2 million concurrent viewers. All records were broken in overall viewership. If you see, the USA gave India a hard time, the Netherlands troubled Pakistan, Zimbabwe beat Australia, and Nepal gave England a scare. I congratulate all the associate teams; they have done very well against the full members,” he added.

To conclude, Jay Shah delivered an important message to the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team.

“I have a message for Surya and Gautam Bhai: slipping from the top to the bottom takes only months, while climbing from the bottom to the top takes years. Keep working hard and keep winning awards. When I was with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), I had planned till the 2028 Olympics. Now I am in the ICC, and others are in charge at the BCCI. All of you should prepare for 2030, 2031 and even 2036,” he said.