![ICC T20 World Cup 2026 trophy and Jay Shah [Source: X]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1772610600990_ICCT20WorldCup2026trophyandJayShah.jpg?type=hq)
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 trophy and Jay Shah [Source: X]
The T20 World Cup 2026 has been a celebration of cricket in its true sense. With 20 nations participating, the mega event saw a massive influx in viewership across the world, and International Cricket Council Chairman Jay Shah has reiterated this very aspect in his latest social media post.
While the T20 World Cup remains a global event, it is true that the larger chunk of viewership and interest comes from India. Peaking live streaming demographics have reached new highs with Jay Shah sharing the exact numbers on the raw data.
The Madness Driving Viewership in Indian Cricket
India is a country where cricket is more of an emotion than just a sport. Watching the game has become a cultural obsession, influenced by the massive population of 1.4 billion.
Of course, role models like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have had a revolutionary impact on the nation’s cricket, helping the game reach record-breaking numbers.
The ICC Champions Trophy in 2025 saw a peak concurrent viewership of 122 million on TV and 61 million on digital platforms during IND vs NZ final.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy played against Australia in 2024-25 attracted 192.5 million TV viewers and accumulated 52 billion minutes of total watch time.
The Women’s Cricket World Cup last year also drew a peak concurrent viewership of 21 million, underlining how popular and exponentially women’s cricket is growing in the nation.
Obviously, this does not exclude the Indian Premier League, where the final of IPL 2025 recorded 169 million TV viewers in the country alone, setting a new record for any T20 match.
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Jay Shah Announces Record-Breaking Claim For T20 World Cup 2026
The ICC Chair, who has been involved with the game and became the Chairman of the apex cricket body in December 2024, recently made a major announcement regarding the T20 World Cup 2026.
Shah strongly emphasised his vision of making the event global and accessible to everyone, revealing that viewership in the nation had already crossed 500 million before the semi-finals.
“The journey of the @ICC #T20WorldCup 2026 began with the ambition to make it the most #global & #accessible Cricket event ever. I am humbled that viewership for the event in India has crossed 500 million, the highest ever for any T20 World Cup in history,” Jay Shah wrote.
In an announcement made on March 4 through his official social media account, he congratulated JioHotstar for reaching a peak viewership of 60.5 million.
He also expressed hope that the knockout matches, the semi-finals and the final scheduled for March 8, would set even more records.
“It was also heartening to see concurrent viewers @JioHotstar hit a peak of 60.5 million. With Knock-out matches for the tournament starting tonight, we hope that the immeasurable love our events receive from Indian fans helps break more records,” Shah added.
Jay Shah’s Massive Impact And Influence On Global Cricket
Shah’s impact on global cricket has been significant. He began his administrative journey in 2009 when he formally entered cricket administration through the Central Board of Cricket Ahmedabad.
After serving four years as an executive board member of the Gujarat Cricket Association, he was elected joint secretary of the GCA. In 2015, he joined the Board of Control for Cricket in India in the finance and marketing department and was elected honorary secretary of the BCCI in 2019.
Later, in 2021, he was appointed president of the Asian Cricket Council and also became head of the ICC’s powerful finance and commercial affairs committee, before becoming ICC Chair in 2024.
Under his leadership at the BCCI, the IPL secured a landmark 2022 media rights deal worth ₹48,390 crore. He also introduced pay parity for male and female cricketers and launched the Women’s Premier League.
Jay Shah’s contribution to cricket, both in India and globally, has been impressive. He also played a key role in securing cricket’s return to the Olympic Games for the Los Angeles 2028 edition.
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