Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced the appointments for Round One matches and the Super 12 phase of the upcoming 2021 mens T20 World Cup, consisting of 20 of the best match officials from around the world. Nitin Menon is the only India umpire in the list while Javagal Srinath will be the lone Indian match referee.
The 16 umpires and four match referees finalised for the 45-match tournament include three umpires who will be officiating in their sixth ICC men's T20 World Cup - Aleem Dar, Marais Erasmus and Rod Tucker.
A 20-strong group means that for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be neutral umpires for all matches of the 16-team tournament, being played in Muscat (Oman), Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai (UAE) from October 17 to November 14.
As per ICC release, Sri Lanka's Kumar Dharmasena, who was one of the on-field umpires for the final of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, will be in the middle for the first match of the tournament, when Oman take on Papua New Guinea, alongside New Zealander Chris Gaffaney.
Another Sri Lankan, the vastly experienced Ranjan Madugalle, will be the match referee, with Richard Kettleborough the TV umpire and Ahsan Raza the fourth official.
Dar and Erasmus have been selected for the Super 12 clash between England and the West Indies, a rematch of the last ICC Men's T20 World Cup final back in 2016, with Australian great David Boon the match referee for that encounter and Chris Brown, appearing in his first ICC Men's T20 World Cup, on TV duty.
Officials have been named for the entirety of the first round and Super 12s, with the selections for the semifinals and final of the tournament in the UAE and Oman to be named in due course.
"We are delighted to be able to call on some of the world's top officials for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with a group of 16 umpires and four match referees,'' said Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager - Umpires and Referees.
"Our aim is always to appoint the best possible officials, and we have also been able to appoint neutral umpires and referees in all matches. We wish them all the very best, and we are confident they will ensure the smooth conduct of matches,'' he added.
Match referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath.
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson.
