Vivian Richards accuses ICC of partiality towards India

The legendary Viv Richards has lashed out at ICC for its official reprimand of the World T20 champions West Indies, stating that it has one rule for the Darren Sammy-led outfit and another for Indian cricket team. Top cricketers like T20 captain Darren Sammy, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels had come down heavily on West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for the way it functioned.

At the ICC Board meeting recently in Dubai, the parent body came out with a statement that West Indies players had been “inappropriate, disrespectful and brought the event into disrepute”.

The reprimand has not gone down well with Richards, who is one of their greatest cricketing icons.

“There are rules in the one-day game under the auspices of the ICC, like for instance the system where you go back to the third umpire and things like that,” he told the ‘Jamaican Observer’ newspaper.

“So, if you are the sole governing body of world cricket, then everyone should be coming under the same umbrella. The Indians do not play certain things the ICC may have in its rules. They totally ignore that and they have been getting away with it for years,” Richards said, indicating that India get away because of their clout in the governing body.

An angry Richards added: “I am only trying to hit back because of what they are trying to do because of Sammy’s comments. They are trying to be a body that if you say this, it’s out of order then you’re going to be this and you’re going to be that.”

“When you look around the world in terms of the governance of the ICC, there are rules for some and not others,” he said.