The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, Jay Shah, has disclosed that India has refused to take up the offer to host the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Notably, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is currently seeking alternative venues to conduct the tournament amid the unrest in Bangladesh.
“They (ICC) have asked us if we would conduct the World Cup. I have categorically said no,” Shah stated during an interaction with the Times Group journalists at the TOI’s Mumbai office on Wednesday, August 14.
“We’re in the monsoon and on top of that we will host the women’s ODI World Cup next year. I don’t want to give any kind of signals that I want to hold consecutive World Cups,” he added.
He further stated that India is yet to speak with the authorities in Bangladesh. However, he said that the upcoming two-match home series against Bangladesh which is scheduled to start from September 19 is important for India.
“We’ve not spoken to them (the Bangladesh authorities). A new government has taken charge there. They might reach out to us or else I will reach out to them. The Bangladesh series is very important to us,” he said.
He further spoke about the new facilities and academies that the BCCI is planning. One of the BCCI’s key projects is the High Performance Centre in Bengaluru. It is understood that the project is on the verge of completion and is scheduled to be inaugurated in September this year.
“After I took over as the secretary in October of 2019 October, a lot of time went towards holding the IPL, because of the pandemic. The office was shut for two years. When we got the second term (in 2022), we decided that we have to take this project forward. The foundation was laid in my first term,” he said about the High Performance Centre project.
He went on to say that the BCCI aimed to make the best of the opportunities available to them. He then noted that it was unfortunate that the National Cricket Academy had to function from the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Nevertheless, he also expressed his delight with India’s position at the top in finances, marketing, and cricket.
“We wanted to make the best use of what we got on a platter. In 2008, we got that land, and I don’t know why my predecessors didn’t use that. I am lucky that it was in my destiny to raise the academy. It was unfortunate that we had to run the National Cricket Academy (NCA) from the Chinnaswamy Stadium. We’re No. 1 in finances, No. 1 in marketing and we’re No. 1 in cricket also. If you look at the ranking, we are No. 1 in two formats and No. 2 in one format. Earlier we were No. 1 in all three formats,” Shah said further.
