No Indian umpire or referee will be part of tournament
On Wednesday, two weeks out from the start of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, the International Cricket Council confirmed the l of match officials for the tournament. And there is no Indian presence for the tournament to be held in Pakan and United Arab Emirates from 19 February to 9 March.
According to PTI, India’s only representative in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, Nitin Menon, has opted out of officiating in the Champions Trophy in Pakan this month due to personal reasons. “The ICC wanted to put him (Menon) on the Champions Trophy roster. But he decided against travelling to Pakan due to personal reasons,” a BCCI source told PTI.
Among match referees, former India pacer Javagal Srinath is also absent from the final l as he is going on leave. A Times of India report quoted Srinath, who is currently the referee for the ODI series between India and England, as saying: “Yes I had asked for leave as I had quite a few days away from home in the month of November, December and January.” With only India matches being played in Dubai, neither Srinath nor Menon would be eligible to officiate in the UAE.
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A team of 12 umpires will take charge of the proceedings in the 8-team tournament to be played in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi in Pakan and Dubai in the UAE. Richard Kettleborough, a veteran of 108 Men’s ODIs, and who stood in the final of the last edition played in the United Kingdom in 2017, is among six umpires who return for another Champions Trophy. Chris Gaffaney, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth, Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker, all members of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, are others who also featured in 2017.
Kettleborough and Illingworth, who stood together for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad, are joined Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Ahsan Raza, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Alex Wharf and Joel Wilson, all of whom officiated at the World Cup in India.
David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle and Andrew Pycroft, all members of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, comprise the three-member team of referees.
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson.
Match Referees: David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft.
With PTI inputs
