Watch: Jay Shah takes dig at Bangladesh and Pakistan with ‘ICC not reliant on’ remark over T20 World Cup 2026 controversy

The chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Jay Shah, has taken a dig at the Bangladesh Cricket team and the Pakistan Cricket team with the comments of ICC not being reliant on them, as he looked back at the controversy from the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

The BCB had refused to travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026 due to security concerns, as the ICC couldn’t find any such concerns, and the demands of the Bangladesh board to move their games to Sri Lanka were not accepted.

Jay Shah’s ‘ICC not reliant on’ comment sparks debate during T20 World Cup 2026 discussion

Days after the conclusion of the 20-team event, the former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) claimed that there was uncertainty regarding the participation of certain teams. Suryakumar Yadav-led side went on to win the title. 

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“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 organization, and no single team makes an organization. An organization is a combination of all teams.” Jay Shah was informed at the CNBC TV18 Business Leader Awards in Mumbai.

Watch the video here: 

“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,” Shah addressed. 

What led to the Bangladesh and Pakistan controversy in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Bangladesh wanted their games to be shifted to Sri Lanka due to security reasons in India, which, in the end, saw the Litton Das-led side not playing the event, as the Scotland side replaced the Bangladesh side for the World Cup 2026 at the eleventh hour.

Pakistan played the T20 WC 2026. At the start, they threatened not to face the Indian side in the event before turning their decision at the last moment and playing the game at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. This brought a new relationship between the BCB and PCB as they face each other in a home ODI series.