'No team bigger': Jay Shah reacts to Bangladesh, Pakistan's pre-T20 World Cup row

International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah had strong words regarding the pre-T20 World Cup drama where Bangladesh pulled out of the tournament citing "security concerns" in India, while Pakistan threatened to boycott in solidarity.

Bangladesh pulled out of the tournament despite being assured by the ICC, resulting in them being replaced by Scotland.

Shah, speaking at the Indian Business Leader Awards in Mumbai, said that the entire tournament was jeopardised over the teams' participation dilemma. He provided a stern reminder 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 without mentioning Bangladesh or Pakistan.

Further, Shah said that T20 World Cup 2026 shattered viewership records, with 7.2 million concurrent viewers reportedly tuning in, while also congratulating associate teams for the splendid show.

"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.

Shah also had a message for Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir.

"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.