WELLINGTON — Two New Zealand cricketers admitted Sunday to inadvertently sparking what has been described as a riot in the Indian city of Chennai after handing out money to street people.
The incident happened following an unauthorised drinking session during the New Zealand A tour of India in August.
Neil Broom and Aaron Redmond owned up after the Herald on Sunday newspaper reported that a riot broke out when two players began handing out money in Chennai.
"The intended charity quickly became more popular than the pair had counted on. The crowd grew larger and more unruly and, according to sources, a full-scale riot broke out," the newspaper said.
Although the players were not named in the article, Broom and Redmond later issued a statement admitting liability to remove the spotlight from the rest of the squad.
"Unfortunately when we decided to leave the night spot we were picked up by police following another poor decision to hand out money to people living on the street, whereupon a crowd developed," Redmond, a seven-Test batsman, said.
"The police initially took us back to the station and then arranged for a taxi to take us back to the hotel."
Broom said they accepted it was a serious breach of team protocols.
"We deeply regret the incident and wish to apologise to New Zealand Cricket," he said.
They were charged by New Zealand Cricket with serious misconduct for breaching team protocol but no details of any punishment were released.
"It was a confidential process, and New Zealand Cricket considers the matter closed," New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said.
New Zealand Cricket Players Association executive manager Heath Mills noted the players had not committed a crime and no charges were laid in India.
"The players fully accept that they should not have left the hotel, and also showed poor judgment in heading to a night spot and drinking, given preparations required for upcoming fixtures and the security position the team was in."
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