Despite chaotic off-field circumstances, the T20 World Cup shattered all broadcasting records.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to send its team to India citing security concerns, prompting removal from the tournament. Standing in solidarity with Bangladesh, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) agreed to participate but threatened to skip the match against India.
After days of negotiations involving the ICC, PCB and BCB, Pakistan reversed the decision and confirmed it would take the field against India. The marquee fixture went ahead as scheduled on February 15 in Colombo, where India thrashed Pakistan by 61 runs.
Despite chaotic off-field circumstances, the T20 World Cup shattered all broadcasting records as the viewership surpassed 500 million viewers in India alone, making it the most-watched edition in the history of the tournament.
Nearly a week after the end of the T20 World Cup, Jay Shah broke his silence on the drama that unfolded leading up to the 20-team competition.
"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 at an awards ceremony.
As BCB remained firm in its stance of not travelling to India, ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the marquee event.
"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 added.
The ICC chief also congratulated Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir for the team's triumphant campaign, and commended all the semifinalists.
"I want to congratulate Surya, Gautam Gambhir, and all the players of Team India. I also want to congratulate not just Team India but also the South African team and the England team, who did not lose a single game before the knockout stage.
"And finally, the finalists, the New Zealand cricket team, for the way they performed and worked hard on the field. Congratulations to them as well," he said.
Shah urged the Indian players to maintain their high standards, noting that while reaching the top takes years, sustaining that performance requires continuous hard work.
"Through Gautam bhai, Surya, and this platform, I want to give a message to the entire team again. In my seventeen years as an administrator, I've learned that it takes months to go from the top to the bottom, but it takes years to go from the bottom to the top.
"For you (the players), you just have to sustain your performance; it's relatively easy. So, work as hard as you have been, so that you keep receiving awards every year," he said.
Jay Shah encouraged the team to focus on upcoming challenges, specifically mentioning preparation for the 2030, 2032, and 2036 Olympic games.
"When I was in the BCCI, I had planned up until the 2028 Olympics. But then Surya took charge as captain, and I moved to the ICC.
"New people have come in my place at the BCCI. All of you together need to prepare for the 2030 and 2032 games, and you know where the 2036 Olympics will be held. So, prepare for that as well."