‘No country bigger than ICC’:Jay Shah breaks silence on Pakistan, Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup boycott saga

International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah addressed the uncertainty that dominated headlines ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. The tournament, which ended on 8 March, saw India lift a record-extending third title, beating New Zealand in the final. However, the period leading up to the T20 World Cup was marked by uncertainty about Bangladesh’s participation due to security concerns. Later, Pakistan entered the fray and boycotted the match against India before calling it off in a dramatic U-turn. ‘No country bigger than ICC’ Speaking at an award ceremony where he was honoured, the ICC chief addressed the situation before the T20 World Cup. “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,” he said The ICC chair further added, “An organisation is a combination of all teams.” Bangladesh and Pakistan’s T20 WC boycott saga Bangladesh repeatedly stated that it faced security threats in India before the T20 World Cup. This was after Mustafizur Rahman was released from the Indian Premier League (IPL) over threats from several groups amid anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh. Also Read: ‘Jasprit Bumrah is Usman Tariq of fast bowling’: Aaqib Javed makes weird comparison; Salman Agha reprimanded by ICC However, despite repeated discussions, Bangladesh refused to travel to India for their T20 World Cup matches, which ultimately led to their replacement by Scotland in the tournament. Later, Pakistan, in a show of support, said it would boycott the high-octane game against India on 15 February. But later, the Pakistan government took a U-turn and agreed to take the field against India. India defeated Pakistan by 61 runs in that match to extend their record to 8-1 over their arch-rivals in the T20 World Cups. Jay Shah highlights record-breaking viewership at T20 WC The ICC chairman also spoke about the record-breaking viewership at the T20 World Cup. The tournament’s viewership in India crossed 500 million. The India vs Pakistan match on 15 February in Colombo became the most-watched T20 match in ICC events. “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,” Shah said. Shah also praised the associate nations for their spectacular show, with some of them coming close to pulling off shock wins against the heavyweights. “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 stated. Also Read: WATCH | Kuldeep Yadav marries Vanshika Chadha: Yuzi Chahal, Dhirendra Shastri among top guests attend glittering ceremony ‘Prepare for 2030, 2031 and even 2036,’ Jay Shah to Surya, Gambhir Shah, a former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), also shared a message for India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir, who were present in the audience. “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 in 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.