Match referee Chris Broad (centre) poses for an image with India captain Virat Kohli (proper) and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson forward of the ICC World Check Championship ultimate on the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on June 19, 2021. — ICC
Former ICC match referee Chris Broad has revealed that he was as soon as instructed to favour India by exhibiting leniency on a slow-over price penalty.
Broad, who oversaw 622 males’s worldwide matches throughout codecs, disclosed in an interview with The Telegraph, describing it as a startling instance of India’s affect in cricket.
The previous England cricketer didn’t particularly point out the match, by which India had been round 4 overs delayed and had been on the verge of being penalised, however he acquired a telephone name and was instructed to point out leniency with the crew.
“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, bring it down below the threshold,” Broad said.
“The very next game, 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’,” he added.
Broad, who served because the ICC match referee till February 2024, additional shared that he was ‘very happy to carry on’, however his contract was not renewed by the apex physique.
“I was very happy to carry on,” Broad remarked. “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’,” Broad continued.
The previous referee then went on to say that the administration turned ‘a lot weaker’ towards India’s monetary affect after the departure of former South Africa cricketer Vince van der Bijl because the ICC umpires supervisor.
“I think we were supported by Vince van der Bijl (ICC umpires manager) while he was in position because he came from a cricketing background, but once he left, the management became a lot weaker. India got all the money and has now taken over the ICC, so in many ways,” he claimed.
“I’m pleased I’m not around because it’s a much more political position now than it ever has been,” Broad concluded.
