The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated former Madhya Pradesh cricketer turned umpire, Nitin Menon, to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) international panel of umpires. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association broke the news on Tuesday, September 6, that Menon, who is only 32 years old, and who has officiated in 40 first-class matches, 32 List-A matches, and 21 T20 games, would be seen standing in international matches soon. He made his first-class debut in 2004 and played two List-A matches for Madhya Pradesh, while his umpiring debut came in 2009 when he stood as an on-field umpire in a Ranji Trophy game between Vidarbha and Goa in Nagpur.
Apart from the aforementioned tournaments, Menon has also officiated in the Duleep Trophy, the Irani Trophy, and ‘A’ games, and was also sent to Australia as a part of the exchange program that was put in place by the BCCI and Cricket Australia (CA). He officiated in two Sheffield Shield matches in the 2016-16 season. The Sheffield Shield is the premier domestic first-class competition of Australia.
His prior international experience, however, is limited to officiating as a television umpire or a reserve umpire. Menon comes from a cricketing family as well, as his father, Narendra Menon, was a first-class cricketer himself, having played 51 games for Madhya Pradesh. Menon Sr. too had then turned towards umpiring and had officiated in four One-Day Internationals between 1993 and 1998.
This appointment comes as a welcome move for the Indian umpires, the torchbearer for whom has been S Ravi, the only Indian umpire who is currently a part of the ICC’s elite panel of umpires. Ravi was elevated to the elite panel in the 2015-16 season after the Test series between England and New Zealand in the United Kingdom. At the time, Ravi had become only the second Indian after former spin-bowling stalwart S Venkatraghavan to be promoted to the group since its inception in 2002.
Menon is expected to carry the mantle forward.
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