Ex-ICC match referee alleges bias: ‘Told not to penalise India for slow over rate’

Ex-ICC match referee alleges bias towards India

Chris Broad, an ICC match referee and former England cricketer, has shockingly revealed that he was once ordered to "be lenient" on an Indian team that had fallen behind on over-rate during an international match. Despite multiple reminders, the Indian team committed the same offense in the subsequent game, according to Broad.

As ICC Match Referee, Broad oversaw 123 Tests, 361 ODIs, and 138 T20Is between 2003 and February 2024. Despite his desire to continue, the international cricket organization declined to extend his contract.

“India were three, four overs down at the end of a game so it constituted a fine. I got a phone call saying, ‘be lenient, find some time because it’s India’. And it’s like, right, OK. So we had to find some time, brought it down below the threshold," Broad said in an interview to The Telegraph.

“The very next game, exactly the same thing happened. He [Sourav Ganguly] didn’t listen to any of the hurry-ups and so I phoned and said, ‘what do you want me to do now?’ and I was told ‘just do him’. So there were politics involved, right from the start. A lot of the guys now are either politically more savvy or just keeping the head below the parapet. I don’t know," he added.

Broad praised himself for having been a part of a "politically active environment" for almost 20 years. Despite his inclination to stay in the position, he is relieved that he won't have to travel to "certain parts of the world."

“I was very happy to carry on," Broad said. “But for 20 years, I dodged a lot of bullets, both politically and physically. I look back and I think, ‘you know, 20 years is quite a long time to be doing that job’."

“I’m pleased not to be travelling to certain parts of the world. And I was always someone who believed in right and wrong, and in certain parts of the world it’s a bit like the River Ganges – right and wrong are so far apart and there’s a lot of dirty water in between them that you have to deal with, so I think as someone who comes from a right and wrong perspective, to last 20 years in that politically active environment is a pretty good effort," he added.

In 2009, Broad was caught up in a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus.

“Still to this day, if an unexpected loud bang happens it makes me jump. And after it I was much more conscious of making sure that security was at the highest level. Undoubtedly the terrorist incident changed my perception of what the role should be," he said.