No umpires or referees from India to be in Champions Trophy

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released the list of match officials for the Champions Trophy 2025, which includes 2 Indians in the list. Umpire Nitin Menon and match referee Javagal Srinath. After Nitin Menon’s refusal to travel to Pakistan and pull out his name from the Champions Trophy on Thursday, Srinath has also requested a leave.

No Indian match officials in Champions Trophy

Interestingly, there will be no Indian match officials in this event. Javagal Srinath, the only Indian in the ICC Elite panel of match referees, requested leave due to a busy schedule in the previous months. He said, “Yes, I had asked for leave as I had quite a few days away from home in the month of November, December, and January.” Meanwhile, Nitin Menon, the sole Indian in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, chose not to travel to Pakistan due to personal reasons. “The ICC wanted to put him (Menon) on the Champions Trophy roster. But he decided against travelling to Pakistan,” a BCCI source explained. Menon could not officiate matches in Dubai as ICC mandates neutral umpires.

Referees and umpires for Champions Trophy

The ICC has selected experienced match referees for the tournament. Australian legend David Boon, Sri Lankan great Ranjan Madugalle, and Zimbabwe’s Andrew Pycroft will take on these roles. All three have experience in previous Champions Trophy events. Among the umpires, six returning officials from the 2017 edition will participate, including Richard Kettleborough, who officiated the 2017 final. He will be joined by Chris Gaffaney, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth, Paul Reiffel, and Rod Tucker.

The ICC highlighted that “Dharmasena will be extending his stint of officiating 132 ODIs at the upcoming tournament, a record for an umpire from Sri Lanka in the One-Day format.” These seasoned officials bring a wealth of experience to ensure fair play throughout the tournament.

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Pakistan to host tournament with few matches in Dubai

The tournament is set to begin on February 19 in Karachi and conclude with the final on March 9. A total of 15 match officials have been appointed, including three match referees and 12 umpires. The matches will be held at three venues in Pakistan: Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. However, India’s matches, including potential semi-finals and finals, will be played in Dubai, starting with a match against Bangladesh on February 20.

Match Officials: Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson.

Match Referees: David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft.