BCCI introduces A+ category for umpires; ICC Elite Panel member Nitin Menon part of group

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has introduced a new A+ category for umpires. ICC Elite Panel member Nitin Menon is among the 10 officials who feature in the newly introduced category.

The development comes following the Indian cricket board’s Apex Council meeting on Thursday (July 21). Former international umpires K Hariharan, Sudhir Asnani and Amiesh Saheba, as well as members of the BCCI umpires' sub-committee, worked on the categories.

A report in PTI revealed that apart from Menon, four international umpires - Anil Chaudhary, Madangopal Jayaraman, Virender Kumar Sharma and K N Ananthapadmabhanan - are also part of the A+ category.

Rohan Pandit, Nikhil Patwardhan, Sadashiv Iyer, Ulhas Gandhe and Navdeep Singh Sidhu are the other five umpires who feature in BCCI’s A+ category of officials.

The report further added that 20 umpires are part of Group A, 60 are in Group B, 46 in Group C and 11 in Group D. Officials in A+ and A category are paid ₹40,000 a day for a first-class game, while umpires in the B and C category earn ₹30,000 per day.

Explaining the addition of the A+ category, a BCCI official told PTI:

"It is not grading. There are groups with A+ being the new category. A+ and A, one can say form the cream of Indian umpires. Umpires in B and C category are also good.

"When it comes to assigning duties across domestic events starting at the top with the Ranji Trophy, preference will be given group wise. The grouping has been done after reviewing the performances of the 2021-2022 season.”

Indian umpires have often come under the scanner for poor decision-making in both international and IPL matches.

---

BCCI set to reintroduce Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy

During the Apex Council meeting on Thursday, the BCCI also discussed reintroducing the Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy in the domestic calendar this year. The events have been affected by the pandemic in recent years.

The Duleep Trophy hasn’t taken place since 2019, while the Irani Cup, a five-day one-off match between the Ranji Trophy champions and Rest of India, has not been played in the last two seasons.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, the Duleep Trophy is set to be held from September 8 to September 25, while the Irani Trophy could be played from October 1 to 5. The latest edition of the Ranji Trophy is also likely to begin on December 13.

---