Explosive Allegation: Ex-Match Referee Chris Broad Claims ICC Asked Him to Protect India from Slow Over-Rate Fines

In a potentially damaging revelation concerning the integrity of international cricket governance, former match referee Chris Broad has alleged that he was directly pressured by officials to show leniency towards the Indian team on matters of rule enforcement. In an explosive interview, the veteran match official, who retired from his post in 2024, claimed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) instructed him to overlook a slow over-rate offense by India, citing the team’s influence.

Broad specifically recounted an incident during a match where the Indian team was substantially three to four overs behind the stipulated over-rate, an infraction that mandated a financial penalty. Despite the clear violation of the rules, Broad claimed he received a direct communication urging a lenient stance.

"I got a phone call saying, 'be lenient, find some time because it’s India,'" Broad disclosed. He admitted to subsequently manipulating the elapsed time calculations to bring the team's over-rate just below the fine threshold, thereby sparing the Indian players a sanction.

The Repetition of the Offense and the Fallout

The former official detailed that in the very next game, the Indian team, then captained by Sourav Ganguly, repeated the exact same slow over-rate offense. Despite repeated reminders and "hurry-ups" from the match officials, the captain allegedly ignored the warnings to speed up play.

When Broad contacted the same individuals who had requested leniency in the previous game for further instruction, the response was starkly different: he was simply told to "just do him," a directive that sanctioned him to proceed with the penalty against the Indian captain. Broad highlighted this abrupt shift as concrete evidence of the political involvement that permeated the governance structure, even in his earlier years as a referee.

Allegations of India's Control Over ICC

Broad also offered a stark commentary on the current power dynamics within the global governing body. He alleged that after the departure of former ICC umpires manager Vince van der Bijl, who he felt provided strong, cricket-centric support, the overall management structure weakened.

He attributed the organizational shift to the immense financial muscle of the Indian board, stating unequivocally that "India got all the money and have now taken over the ICC in many ways." Broad claimed that this dominance has turned the referee's role into a "much more political position now than it ever has been."

The former England opener, who served as an ICC match referee from 2003 until his departure, concluded by expressing relief that he is no longer part of what he described as a highly political environment. His allegations have reignited a persistent debate within the cricketing world regarding the influence of major financial powers on the impartial application of rules and the governance of the sport.