Ahead of the match against New Zealand, there was something that Indian fans were more worried about than the batting and bowling prowess of their adversaries. Yes, instead of worrying about the swing bowling of Boult or the determined batting of Williamson, the Indian fans were worried about the presence of one of the On-field umpires on the field.
Marais Erasmus and Richard Kettleborough were the two on field umpires for the match and according to a post shared by Wasim Jaffer, the English Umpire Kettebrough has officiated in every ICC event in which India was knocked out of the tournament. According to stats, it all started in 2014 when India faced a defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup. Fast forward to the year 2015, the umpire once again was present in the 2015 ICC’s 50-over World Cup semifinal in which India lost to Australia. The story of the 2017 Champion’s League’s final between India and Pakistan was no different, the umpire once again was present in the middle of the action. The worst of the lot is the 2019 ODI world cup semifinal in which India suffered a heartbreaking loss against New Zealand after coming agonizingly close to winning it, once again Kettlegrough was one of the officiating figures on the field.
Call it coincidence or sheer bad luck, but Kettlegrough has been present in every virtual knockout incident India has lost in the past 7 years. Therefore, coming into the match against New Zealand in the World Cup T20 of 2021, Jaffar shared a meme on Twitter to comment on the humorous side of India’s record in the presence of Richard Kettlebrough.
Happy Halloween Indian fans 🎃 #INDvNZ #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/22v9EV0Mdc
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 31, 2021
