Jay Shah Makes Massive Change In ICC For T20 World Cup After Pakistan-Bangladesh Drama

Jay Shah and the ICC World Cup Trophy [Source: X]

In a massive announcement, ICC chairman Jay Shah has made a significant change for the T20 World Cup 2028, after brushing past the Bangladesh-Pakistan drama in 2026, as a foolproof plan for the future to avoid any further conflicts.

Fingers were raised at Jay Shah after he overlooked the World Cup 2026 proceedings, with Pakistan and Bangladesh creating a ruckus over their non-participation in the tournament. However, Dame Therese Walsh has been announced as the chairperson of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028 tournament, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

The announcement comes amid the knockout stages of the current tournament, where South Africa were knocked out by New Zealand in the first semifinal at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Jay Shah Steps Down After Pakistan-Bangladesh Conflict

This edition of the T20 World Cup was overlooked by Shah himself as he holds the position of the chairman of both the Apex Cricket Council as well as the mega ICC tournament.

As the tournament now is at the business end of its duration, the trouble in the beginning is not to be overlooked. Earlier, Bangladesh protested against playing on Indian venues, citing the safety of their players because of the sudden anti-Muslim and anti-Islam sentiment rising in India.

Hence, they placed a formal request to the International Cricket Council to play all their matches in Sri Lanka. However, the ICC did not approve this venue shift at the last moment since logistics would be a concern.

Also Read: India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 Match Breaks All Records; Boycott Drama Aid?

Therefore, Bangladesh were given two choices: either to play in India or to get replaced by Scotland. Pakistan, meanwhile, was very supportive of Bangladesh changing their venue and joined the protest, encouraging them to stick with their decision.

Bangladesh later withdrew from the tournament as Scotland got in, replacing them, eventually creating a two-week fiasco over the Indian venue drama. This, however, was not over since on February 1, the Pakistan government then announced that they would boycott playing against India on February 15 during their group-stage encounter.

This led to another hassle, and after multiple meetings, there was a conclusion that following a tripartite meeting between the BCB, PCB, and the ICC, Pakistan finally agreed to lift the ban. This, however, laid a massive toll on Jay Shah himself. Hence, he decided to replace the chair of the 2028 edition with Dame Walsh.

Dame Therese Walsh To Bring In Management Expertise

Therese is a highly respected leader in New Zealand, where she currently holds the position of chair of Air New Zealand and ASB Bank, and was also the former chair of TVNZ and a director of New Zealand Cricket.

Speaking of her credentials, she played a leading role in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2015, co-hosted across Australia and New Zealand, and was also an important figure in the IRB Men's Rugby World Cup in 2011.

Dame Therese Walsh's function as the chair will be important in managing the fiasco brought in the 2026 edition by Pakistan and Bangladesh. Therese, as part of her functional description, will oversee a board comprised of the chairs and CEOs of both Australia and New Zealand Cricket to ensure the smooth conduct of the event.

Speaking on her appointment as the new chair, Dame Walsh was excited to organize the upcoming event. Further, Therese announced that Joel Morrison has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028.

Morrison earlier held the role of Executive General Manager of Cricket Australia since September 2022.

How Can Walsh Be More Effective Than Jay Shah To Chair T20 World Cup?

More significantly, Walsh's leadership will be better than Jay Shah's because of her distinct expertise in trans-Tasman logistics and diverse corporate governance, especially since the event is to be hosted in Australia and New Zealand.

Walsh will be of key importance since she holds previous experience in Australia-New Zealand co-hosting, along with specialised corporate and financial governance experience. Her background as a chartered accountant and former CFO of New Zealand Rugby provides a strong foundation for managing the complex commercial and financial structure of the global tournament.

The most important factor, perhaps, is her diplomatic independence. Unlike Jay Shah, who rose through the BCCI, Walsh operates as an independent director, where she will be more effective in balancing the interests of multiple member nations without the perception of bias towards a single cricketing powerhouse.

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