5 greatest Indian umpires of all-time

#1 Srinivas Venkataraghavan

Venkataraghavan was among the first umpires to be included in ICC’s Elite Panel of Umpires

Considered to be one of India’s greatest spinners of all-time, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan played in 57 Tests and 15 ODIs in an international career lasting 18 years from 1965-1983. After retiring from professional cricket, Venkat resorted to umpiring.

He made his umpiring debut in an ODI in January 1993 between India and England at Jaipur and officiated his first Test match in the same month between India and England at Kolkata. In an umpiring career lasting more than a decade, Venkat officiated 73 Tests and 52 ODIs including 6 Ashes and 3 Cricket World Cups between 1996 and 2003. He was the third umpire during the 1999 World Cup Final between Australia and Pakistan.

He was inducted into the inaugural ICC Elite Panel of Umpires in 2002, being the first Indian umpire to have been included in this panel. He left the panel following his retirement from umpiring in 2004. Truly, Venkataraghavan is India’s greatest umpire ever.