Former England cricketer and ICC match referee Chris Broad has recently made a shocking revelation about the Indian team and management. Let us tell you that Chris Broad told in an interview that during his tenure as a match official, he once received a phone call in which he was asked to “relax the penalty for India” and not impose penalty for slow over-rate. Let us tell you that this incident happened when the Indian team was three or four overs behind the prescribed over-rate.
Broad pointed out that at that time India got different treatment in certain circumstances, and this was an example of the politics of cricket. Although he did not reveal in which match it happened or against whom India were playing, he said that at that time he got a call and was told, “Give some slack, take time because this is India.” He said they took necessary steps to bring the over-rate below the threshold in line with the rules.
The former England opener further said that India repeated the same mistake in the very next game. The Indian captain at the time, Sourav Ganguly, did not complete the over-rate on time despite his warning, leading to the imposition of the rule. Broad said the incident shows that political pressure sometimes comes into play in decisions on the field.
Chris Broad also said that in his career he has refereed a total of 123 Test matches, the last of which took place in Colombo in February 2024. He believes that the work of match officials is no longer as simple and fair as before, but political influences have increased significantly in it. According to Broad, India’s growing financial and administrative power has made politics more important in the ICC.difficultHave made it.
“In our time, Vince van der Byl (ICC umpire manager) used to get support because he was from a cricket background, but after he left, the management became very weak. Now India have more resources and influence and their clout in the ICC has increased. I am happy that I am not there anymore, because now the situation has become too political,” Broad said.
As per the current information, striking a balance between law enforcement and political influence in cricket has now become a challenging task for match officials and this situation may become bigger in the times to come.