The chairman of the ICC, Jay Shah, met Lionel Messi during his visit to the subcontinent. Lionel Messi was in India for the GOAT tour, and the ICC chairman Jay Shah honoured him with a special signed bat and an Indian cricket jersey with his name.
Lionel Messi, the legendary Argentine footballer, visited India as part of his GOAT tour. He visited and made public appearances for his thousands of fans in India, across different cities during the tour. Messi’s tour started with Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, and then finished with Delhi.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah meets Lionel Messi during the GOAT tour in Delhi
ICC chairman Jay Shah visited Delhi and met Argentine football legend Lionel Messi alongside his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suarez. The meeting occurred during the GOAT tour at a special event at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
Your daily dose of cricket!
Alongside Shah, the former BCCI secretary, several other dignitaries also met Messi during his visit to Delhi. The Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia were also among the notable attendees.
लियोन मेसी को टी20 क्रिकेट विश्व कप की टिकट के साथ साइन किया हुआ बल्ला और क्रिकेट की जर्सी देते आइसीसी चेयरमैन जय शाह pic.twitter.com/UyDaOTMIZ2
— Abhishek Tripathi / अभिषेक त्रिपाठी (@abhishereporter) December 15, 2025
ICC CHAIRMAN JAY SHAH HANDED INDIA vs USA T20I WC MATCH TICKETS TO MESSI 🐐 pic.twitter.com/DVgyeYi5g8
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 15, 2025
ICC Chairman honours the Argentine champion with ICC T20 World Cup tickets
Jay Shah offered the Argentine great, alongside his teammates, an ICC T20 World Cup jersey with each of their names and jersey numbers printed on it. Alongside the jersey, the ICC chairman also presented Messi with the tickets for the match between India and the USA for the ICC T20 World Cup.
Messi arrived at the stadium after an exhibition match was played between Celebrity Messi All Stars and Minerva Messi All Stars, in which the latter won the match by a 6-0 margin. Following this, Messi arrived at the venue and received a warm welcome, and the stadium was packed with fans who turned up in big numbers to watch the iconic star.
Lionel Messi ends GOAT tour at the Arun Jaitely Stadium
Lionel Messi arrived in the country back on the midnight of the 13th and had the tour planned for the next three days. Messi, after moving from Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, arrived in Delhi on the third day of the GOAT India tour.
In Mumbai, he was hosted by former Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Chhetr,i and Indian captain Rohit Sharma, along with many other dignitaries. He arrived in Delhi on the afternoon of the 15th and addressed his fans in Delhi.
“We carry all this love with us – we will definitely return – hopefully one day to play a match or on another occasion, but we will definitely return to visit India. Thank you very much. I want to thank everyone for the love and affection during these days in India – it was a truly beautiful experience for us,” said Messi during the event, as he promised to return to India.
ALSO READ: Cameron Green bags ₹30.50 crore deal, Liam Livingstone follows at ₹19 crore in IPL 2026 mock auction
