Vivian Richards accuses ICC of partiality towards India

ANTIGUA: West Indies’ legendary former captain Vivian Richards has chided the International Cricket Council (ICC) for reprimanding the West Indies following their WorldT20 victory earlier this month.

Richards, who never lost a Test series during his tenure as West Indies captain, accused the ICC of holding its members to different standards, noting that financial powerhouses India had been given a free pass.

"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 Observer newspaper here on Thursday.

"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."

The ICC this week rebuked the behavior of the West Indies team following its win over England in the final of the T20 World Cup in Kolkata.

In a statement following its meeting in Dubai, the governing body said the actions and statements of the West Indies players had been "inappropriate, disrespectful and brought the event into disrepute".

The ICC said it had also given "serious consideration" to bringing charges against the team relative to its code of conduct.

The West Indies players celebrated by removing their shirts, Marlon Samuels was involved in a bust-up with England all-rounder Ben Stokes for which he was fined, and captain Darren Sammy openly criticised the West Indies Cricket Board during the post-final interview.

Richards, who featured in 121 Tests and 187 One-Day Internationals for the West Indies, felt the ICC had taken an unreasonable stance.

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

"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 is going to be this and you're going to be that." He added.