Mumbai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has changed the match referee and umpires for the remaining two Test matches between India and Australia, starting in Ranchi from March 16.
West Indies’ Richie Richardson is all set replace Chris Broad as ICC match referee for the last two Tests in Ranchi (March 16-20) and Dharamsala (March 25-29).
Broad came under a lot of fire after the second Test was hit by controversy with Australian captain Steve Smith seeking help from the dressing room over the Decision Review System (DRS) in their second innings of the Bengaluru Test.
Several cricketers including former India captain Sunil Gavaskar criticised Broad for not taking any action against the Australian captain.
“There is no sudden change. Chris (Broad) was always supposed to referee in the first two Tests, while Richie Richardson was appointed for the last two Tests", the ICC spokesperson said from Dubai.
Interestingly, not only the match-referee, but the two on field umpires will also be changed for the Ranchi and Dharamshala Tests.
England’s Ian Gould and New Zealand’s Chris Gaffaney will be officiating in both the Test matches.
England’s Nigel Llong will officiate as a TV umpire in Ranchi.