“Never Held a Bat”: Former BCB President’s Sharp Attack on ICC Chairman Jay Shah

In the midst of the ongoing struggle between India and Bangladesh regarding the 2026 T20 World Cup, Syed Ashraful Haque, former president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), has written a scathing letter against the ICC head Jay Shah. He criticized him for his handling of the situation, referring to him as an administrator who has never held a bat in his hands. It is pertinent to mention here that the BCB has asked the ICC for the transfer of the match from India to Sri Lanka due to the security threat posed to the Bangladesh players, which is yet to be decided.

Syed Ashraful Haque, speaking to TOI, said that the cricket ecosystem has been hijacked by politicians from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. He claimed that if people like Jagmohan Dalmiya, IS Bindra, Madhavrao Scindia, NKP Salve, or N Srinivasan were in the ICC, the situation of shifting Bangladesh's T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India to Sri Lanka would never have arisen.

He said that now it has been completely hijacked. Some people have never held a bat. You have Jay Shah, who has never even held a cricket bat in a competitive match. Our sports advisor makes statements saying that Bangladesh should not go to India. This is a World Cup event, not the IPL. This is an international World Cup event. You can't make such hasty statements.