Ashes Dream Comes True For India’s Nitin Menon; To Officiate In Third, Fourth ENG Vs AUS Tests
New Delhi: Nitin Menon, the only Indian in the ICC elite panel of umpires, will finally realise his ‘dream’ when he gets to officiate in the iconic Ashes in England in June-July. The 39-year-old from Indore will be the on-field umpire in the third and fourth Test of the marquee series between England and Australia starting June 16.
“He will be officiating in the Ashes,” a BCCI official told PTI. The third Test will be played in Leeds from July 6-10 while the fourth Test will be in Manchester (July 19-23). Menon will be the TV umpire in the fifth and final Test at the Oval in London from July 27-31.
His on-field partners in Leeds and Manchester will be Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena and Trinidad’s Joel Wilson respectively. Menon, who was inducted into the elite panel back in 2020, could have officiated in the Ashes earlier if it wasn’t for COVID with ICC forced to use local umpires due to the prevailing restrictions at the time.
“My dream series will be Ashes without a doubt. That is the only series I watch on TV. The atmosphere, the way the series is fought, is something I want be involved in. Whether in England or Australia I would love to be part of it,” Menon had told PTI after being elevated into the elite panel.
Menon has so far officiated in 18 Tests, 42 ODIs and 40 T20s. He is currently busy with the IPL. Considering neutral umpires have been picked for the Ashes, it seems that the ICC is also set to bring back the pre-COVID policy in all Tests. Recently, Pakistan’s Aleem Dar stepped down from the elite panel after 19 years on the road.
The others in the panel include Adrian Holdstock (South Africa), Ahsan Raza (Pakistan), Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand), Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Michael Gough (England), Menon, Paul Reiffel (Australia), Richard Illingworth (England), Richard Kettleborough (England), Rodney Tucker (Australia), and Wilson.