Renowned umpire Richard Kettleborough was booed by the saddened Indian fans at The Oval after the WTC final in 2023. The Elite umpire came under attack after he deemed Shubman Gill out on Day Four. Ahead of the Tea break on the day, the right-hander edged the ball towards the gully where Cameron Green grabbed the ball and started celebrating.
However, the on-field umpires decided to take the help of the television umpire (Richard). The former Yorkshire and Middlesex player deemed it out, creating controversy among the fans. Not to forget, the word ‘cheating’ was trending on Twitter. After the Day play Gill uploaded an Instagram story and a Twitter post indicating the dismissal was unfair.
However, on Day Five, India went from 164/3 to 234 all-out, losing the game by 209 runs. After the game, both teams were given the medal according to the result of the game. Also, the match officials were given the medals as well. However, the Indian fans at the venue booed when the Englishman was given the medal.
Well Deserved
— Narendra Modi fan (@narendramodi177) June 11, 2023
Deserving*
— Teena? (@oye_jaatni) June 11, 2023
— Pratham ? (@Pratham7340) June 11, 2023
We miss this guy ?????? pic.twitter.com/kGOPVtkXfN
— Manish Vaishnav (@MANISHV32482061) June 11, 2023
Ganguly was hyped for BCCI president post, Dravid saab was hyped for head coach post (by me too), Rohit was hyped for captaincy, but nothing has changed so far. The process, intent, selections, blah blah. Tried now. pic.twitter.com/I0qKxJEvsu
— Ekansh Sharma (@Ekansh_Sharma21) June 11, 2023
Haan jaise wo out na deta to aaj jeet jate ?
— ?. (@cric_shub41) June 11, 2023
The pain continues ??#WTCFinal2023 pic.twitter.com/7G2JDYgivR
— Masood Sheikh (@masoodsheikh78) June 11, 2023
Richard kettleborough ? pic.twitter.com/OwQwehBNK6
— ??????? ? (@himanshut017) June 11, 2023
I'm sorry but they are not ICT fans in my honest book. We're not losers like them and we accept whatever the umpires say. We don't whine ?
— Bakri Player (@cric_nerd2) June 11, 2023
— Ankit ?? (@imoriginalankit) June 11, 2023
Richard Kettleborough has been unlucky for India in World tournaments
Meanwhile, from 2014 to 2023, India has lost a lot of knockout games, whether it is the 20-20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy, and World Test Championship final. In all these tournaments whenever the Men In Blue have played the knockout games, Richard has invariably officiated in those games.
Notably, the team has lost all those must-win games. The same was the case with him in the WTC Final 2023. Meanwhile, with the Test Championship final loss, India’s wait for a World Event win continues. Their last title win came in the 2013 Champions Trophy, beating England in what was a shortened 20-over game.
