Bangladesh series is important to us: Jay Shah

The BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has stated that the upcoming Bangladesh series is important for the team. India recently lost the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka and they will host the Tigers for two Test matches and three T20Is after mid-September.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh is set to host the Women’s World Cup but ICC has been looking for alternative options because of the political unrest in the country. Shah has revealed that they won’t be hosting the World Cup.

 “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.

Shah explained the BCCI position. “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.”

Speaking on hosting Bangladesh, Shah said, “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.”

Meanwhile, the High-Performance Centre in Bengaluru has been one of the main projects of the BCCI and it is all but complete. It will be inaugurated next month. 

“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.”

On the other hand, the impact player rule has been criticized by many experts in the IPL as it is affecting the role of all-rounders.

Speaking on the same, Shah concluded, “We had a long chat about this in the recent meeting with the franchise owners. We had a long chat among our domestic teams also. There are positives and negatives to it. The negative is that it affects the all-rounders and the positive side is that it gives an opportunity to an extra Indian player. We should think about the broadcasters also. For me as an administrator, the game is important. Let’s see what feedback we’re getting.”