'Be lenient, it’s India': Chris Broad recalls ICC pressure over slow over-rate fine

Former ICC match referee Chris Broad has claimed that he was once asked to “be lenient” in enforcing an over-rate penalty to avoid fining the Indian cricket team during a match.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Broad said he received a phone call during a game when India were behind on their required over-rate.

“India were three, four overs down at the end of a game so it constituted a fine,” Broad recalled. “I got a phone call saying, ‘be lenient, find some time because it’s India’. So we had to find some time and brought it down below the threshold.”

He added that a similar situation occurred in the following match. “The very next game, exactly the same thing happened. [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’,” Broad said.

Broad, who served as an ICC match referee from 2003 until February 2023, officiated in 622 international matches — including 123 Tests, 361 ODIs, and 138 T20Is. He said he had been willing to continue in the role but his contract was not renewed by the ICC.

Reflecting on his two-decade career, Broad said he had faced both “political and physical” challenges, referring to being caught up in the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore. “I look back and think 20 years is quite a long time to be doing that job,” he said. “I’m pleased not to be travelling to certain parts of the world.”

Broad also criticised what he described as the growing political influence within cricket’s governing body. “India got all the money and have now taken over the ICC,” he said. “It’s a much more political position now than it ever has been.”