India's hope shine bright as no Richard Kettleborough for semi-final against England; Check out list of officials for high-voltage clash

Team India advanced to the knockout stage of an ICC tournament yet another time. Rohit Sharma and Co. extended their unbeaten streak with a 24-run win over Australia in their final Super 8 match and cruised into the semi-finals of the ninth World Cup edition.

They are set to face England in a high-profile encounter at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday, June 27 at 8:00 PM (IST). Meanwhile, Afghanistan will clash against South Africa in the first semi-final on the same day (6:00 AM IST) at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.

Also Check: India vs England Dream11 Prediction, Semi-Final 2

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the list of match officials to oversee proceedings in the two semi-finals. To the delight of Indian fans, English umpire Richard Kettleborough will not officiate the IND vs ENG second semi-final.

Chris Gaffaney and Rodney Tucker have been appointed as the on-field officials for India’s match. Joel Wilson is named as the TV umpire and Paul Reiffel as the fourth umpire. Meanwhile, Richard Kettleborough will be the TV umpire for the first semi-final between SA vs AFG, with Ahsan Raza as the fourth umpire. Richard Illingworth and Nitin Menon will be the on-field umpires for that match.

Also Read: What will happen if the first semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan gets washed out?

Why is Kettleborough a villain for Indians?  

Richard Kettleborough, a former first-class cricketer who appeared in 33 first-class matches for Yorkshire and Middlesex, is one of the finest umpires in the present era. The 51-year-old has won the ICC's Umpire of the Year award thrice in a row between 2013-15. 

While Kettleborough has done nothing to undermine his work ethic, to the Indians, he is a villain. He was the on-field umpire of eight of the ten crucial games in ICC tournaments that India failed to win. Notably, Kettleborough was one of the match officials in the finals of the 2014 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, where the Men in Blue lost to Sri Lanka and Australia, respectively. 

He was on the field when India suffered heartbreaking exits in the semifinals of the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups against Australia and New Zealand, respectively. All this led Indian fans to believe that the veteran umpire was a jinx who would not allow their team to win a major title.