There is hardly any doubt that India’s Nitin Menon is one of the best umpires in the world, and hence, is part of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires. But then, he wasn’t a part of the officials roster, for the upcoming Champions Trophy, as he opted out due to personal reasons, as per a report in the PTI.
No Nitin Menon for Champions Trophy
It is important to note that the Indian team had earlier refused to go to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, and after much tension, all their matches were shifted to Dubai. In fact, India hasn’t been to Pakistan for almost two decades now. Perhaps, umpire Nitin Menon’s decision might have come from the same reason too, but there is no clarity on the same.
Another notable factor is, ICC has a policy where only neutral umpires can officiate in ICC tournaments, and there was no way Menon would have officiated in India matches in Dubai. “The ICC wanted to put him (Menon) on the Champions Trophy roster. But he decided against travelling to Pakistan due to personal reasons,” a BCCI source told PTI.
Cites Reason for Not Travelling to Pakistan
The tournament starts on Feb 19 in Karachi, and will see other 12 top umpires in the tournament, along with three match referees. “A distinguished panel of 12 umpires will officiate the eight-team event, with six returning officials from the 2017 edition, including Richard Kettleborough, who stood in the final of the previous Champions Trophy in the UK,” the ICC said in a release.
“Dharmasena will be extending his stint of officiating 132 ODIs at the upcoming tournament, a record for an umpire from Sri Lanka in the One-Day format.”
Panel of 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.
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