Former ICC match referee Chris Broad has levelled serious allegations against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), asserting that political influence was used to protect the Indian team from penalties during his tenure. Broad, who is also the father of retired England pacer Stuart Broad, detailed these claims in an interview. Broad claimed that he received a direct phone call instructing him to be “lenient” and find ways to spare the Indian team from a slow over-rate fine in one particular match.

Without divulging into specifics, Broad noted that India were three or four overs down at the end of the game, an offence which constituted an automatic fine. Because of the pressure from the BCCI, Broad said he had to comply, manipulating the elapsed time to bring the over-rate below the fine threshold.

In his interview, Broad further claimed that the sport has become significantly more political now than in his early days as an official. With the BCCI being the main financial driving force, Broad alleged that top positions in the ICC have become much more politically charged.

“India got all the money and have now taken over the ICC so in many ways. I’m pleased I’m not around because it’s a much more political position now than it ever has been,” Broad told the Telegraph.

Narrating the slow over-rate episode, Broad revealed how the phone call effectively forced him to be lenient with Team India.

“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.

“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,” Broad claimed.

Broad officiated a total of 123 Tests as a match referee in his career, with his last match being in Colombo in February 2024.