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ICC chairman Jay Shah has finally commented on the controversy that unfolded before the T20 World Cup 2026. The problem started when Bangladesh refused to travel to India, leading to their removal from the tournament. Following this, Pakistan initially threatened to boycott, accusing the ICC of treating Bangladesh unfairly. Later, Pakistan announced it would participate but would not play against India in their marquee group-stage clash in Colombo.

The scenario shifted when the ICC confirmed Bangladesh would not face any sanctions for missing the World Cup. Additionally, Bangladesh was granted the hosting rights for a future ICC event, likely the Under-19 World Cup.

Speaking after the T20 World Cup concluded, Shah stated that ‘no country is bigger than the ICC’, and expressed satisfaction with how the situation was resolved.

“This World Cup was significant, especially given all the discussions before it began about which teams would take part and how the tournament would proceed. As ICC chairman, I can say that no team is bigger than the organisation, and the strength of the organisation comes from all its teams collectively,” Shah said.

With Bangladesh out, Scotland replaced them in Group C. Despite the pre-tournament tension, the World Cup was a success, with India defending their title and achieving record-breaking viewership worldwide.

“The World Cup has set new viewership milestones. For the first time ever, we saw 7.2 million people watching simultaneously. Overall, all previous records have been surpassed. On the field, the USA challenged India, the Netherlands tested Pakistan, Zimbabwe defeated Australia, and Nepal gave England a real contest. I want to congratulate all the associate teams for their outstanding performances against the full-member nations,” he added.

Shah, who served as BCCI secretary from 2019 to 2024, also advised India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav to continue focusing on long-term goals, particularly the quest for Olympic gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“I want to share a message with Surya and Gautam Bhai. Falling from the top to the bottom can happen in just a few months, but rising from the bottom to the top takes years. Keep putting in the effort and continue winning accolades. During my time at the BCCI, I had plans mapped out all the way to the 2028 Olympics. Now, you should start preparing not just for 2030 or 2031, but even for 2036,” he concluded.

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