Female Staffer at ICC Alleged Harassment, Wrote Letters; Top Bosses Refused to Act on it | EXCLUSIVE

A female staffer of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has alleged harassment at the workplace but top bosses at the global cricketing body are yet to act on it. News18 CricketNext has reliably learnt that the staffer feared for safety and chose to write her complaint and submit it personally, instead of emailing, it to a top ICC official.

“She feared her emails could have been tracked by the influential people in the ICC so she went the old-timer way. The entire complaint was typed and printed on an A4 size paper and submitted to a senior ICC official in person,” a well-placed source tells CricketNext.

The shocking bit here is not a single ICC office-bearer or official, including the chairman and CEO, chose to even respond to the complaint. To date, outside of the odd email exchange with ICC’s legal team, no single individual from the governing body has chosen to even hear out this female staffer’s said complaint.

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The female staffer had spent a considerable amount of time working at ICC on different projects and the alleged “harassment” by the senior ICC official started before the 2021 T20 World Cup, which took place in the UAE. Working at the headquarters in Dubai, the staffer knocked on a lot of doors before losing all hope and running out of options.

“The employee wasn’t a new one at the ICC. She has worked for a considerable amount of time and also worked on a project ahead of the T20 World Cup in UAE. The constant interference at work and then no response to multiple reminders or emails or letters did her any good as no one in the ICC ever had a dialogue with her,” adds the source.

In spite of multiple reminders and different methods of reaching to different senior officials of the ICC, there was allegedly no progress and the female staffer continued to fight for a lost cause. The source adds that the ICC official, against whom the complaints were made, has had multiple complaints of allegedly harassing co-workers.

“It was always going to be difficult for her to fight against such a big institution and then especially the people part of the senior leadership. Then there was always the fear of future professional opportunities being affected by the events that unfolded at the ICC. This complaint isn’t the first time someone has raised a voice against that ICC official,” says the source tracking developments.

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CricketNext has learnt that two very senior ICC officials, part of the top management, were approached for a dialogue too. Neither has there been any dialogue nor has any committee been constituted to look into the allegations.

On their official website, under the Integrity and then Safeguarding tab, a part of ICC’s message reads,” Everyone involved in cricket has the right to be protected from harassment, abuse and harm. As the international governing body for cricket, the ICC is committed to ensuring a safe and protected environment for all participants.”

News18 CricketNext reached out to the ICC for a response and is yet to get an update. The story will be updated the moment they respond.

CricketNext will continue to track the alleged claims of harassment and will serve our readers with the exact contents of the original complaint letter and the multiple reminders that were sent after that in the next few days.