Australian umpire Daryl Harper has hit out at India players and the International Cricket Council following his decision to retire during the recent series in the West Indies.
The official claims that the ICC refuses to hold Indian cricketers to account in the same way it does players from other countries.
“When I need to consider which team is playing and apply the laws differently for different teams, then this game has lost sight of its standards and its values,” Harper said.
Harper was angered that India captain M.S. Dhoni criticised the umpiring in a press conference after the match but went unpunished by the ICC.
“I waited for a response or some action from management … and I waited,” Harper said. “No response came … no support, no action. This wasn’t the first time that I felt that I had been left out on a limb.
“People don’t always think before they speak. Some spontaneous comments can be harmful to the game and its best interests. I had previously imagined that was the reason for a clause in the ICC Code of Conduct about ‘inappropriate public comment’.
“If it happened on my watch, I’d take action. If it happens after my watch, after the game is over, I expected the ICC, the controlling body, to do some controlling.”
Harper revealed in an email he sent on Thursday that Dhoni had pressured him during the match after the official had removed a young Indian bowler from the attack for repeatedly running on the wicket.
“The Indian captain had the temerity to say, ‘We’ve had issues with you before, Daryl’,” he said. “I didn’t ask him to elaborate but I’m still puzzled as to what those issues may have been.”
Harper said he only received limited support after he stood down.
“After I had informed them of my decision, there was a brief media release announcing that they had ‘every faith’ in me to finish the job, but I hadn’t seen or felt any of this faith, especially in what has turned out to be the final two years of my career.”
While Harper claims his umpiring record is good, he revealed he had been sacked by the ICC in May.
Last year he was attacked by former England captain Nasser Hussain over his role as a third umpire in an incident the ICC later blamed on poor equipment provided by the ICC.
Harper was also stood down from the Twenty20 World Cup in 2010 for “performance reasons”.
However, his claims that India players are treated differently by the ICC have been repeated by others in his position.
Steve Bucknor was removed from the Australia-India series after complaints by the powerful nation.
And there were eyebrows raised when Gautam Gambhir had a physical contact charge after a clash with Shane Watson downgraded so he could escape suspension.
Harper believes there was a campaign of misinformation about him in the Indian media but says the ICC’s lack of support was the main reason he did not officiate in what would have been his last Test.
