- Bangladesh boycotted playing T20 World Cup 2026 in India.
- ICC replaced team with Scotland.
- India successfully defended its T20 title on home soil.
Jay Shah Bangladesh T20 WC Boycott: The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 witnessed India become the first team to successfully defend its title and the first nation to lift the trophy on home soil. While the tournament delivered several memorable moments, it was overshadowed by controversy before it even began. Following the removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2026 squad, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declined to travel to India, the tournament’s primary host, and at the eleventh hour requested that its team’s matches be relocated to co-host Sri Lanka.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah recently spoke at the India Business Leaders Awards event, and seemingly referred to this quarrel.
‘Organisation Is Not Defined By A Single Team’: Jay Shah
🚨Jay Shah breaks his silence on Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup boycott🚨
– Bangladesh listened to others and boycotted the World Cup, which resulted in a loss of revenue for themselves.
– Many people said that if this team does not come, how will the World Cup be successful? But a… pic.twitter.com/ZYRLxxP8OO
— ‘ (@Chiku_187_) June 5, 2026
While Jay Shah did not name-drop Bangladesh, his remarks appeared to allude to them boycotting to play T20 World Cup matches in India.
“Before this ICC World Cup began, many people were discussing whether this team would play or not, and how the World Cup would be conducted. But as ICC Chairman, I want to tell you that nothing is bigger than the organisation. An organisation is not defined by a single team, it is built by all the teams together.”
After the BCB refused to back down from its demands, ICC opted to remove Bangladesh from the tournament and replace them with Scotland, and the tournament moved ahead as planned.
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T20 World Cup 2026 Broke Viewership Records
Jay Shah further addressed the viewership benchmarks that were set by this T20 World Cup.
According to the ICC Chairman, the competition established new audience milestones across platforms and became one of the most-watched cricket tournaments in history.
“In terms of viewership, the World Cup shattered every record. First time in history, we recorded 7.2 million concurrent views, while overall viewership also broke all previous records. That is why this World Cup proved to be extremely significant.”
India’s historic title defence, combined with unprecedented audience engagement, ensured that the 2026 edition left a lasting mark on international cricket despite the controversies that preceded the tournament.
