Team India’s phenomenal performance across all forms against England has left a great impression. Apart from that, it was Nitin Menon, the debut umpire of the ICC ‘Elite Panel’ official, who left a great impression o everyone with his remarkable accuracy.
The 37-year-old umpire had been appointed in the ICC Elite Panel amidst the COVID-19 pandemic last year in June, but he finally got a chance to be a part of his first major assignment in February 2021.
With the talks of introducing local umpires in a bilateral series, Menon was appointed in all the four games between India and England, and as well as in the three T20Is and three ODIs. With his accuracy in every match, Menon left a great impression on the cricket fraternity and later on received praising from them.
In an interview, Nitin interacted with media and reflected on his feelings about the assignment with fondness.
“The last two months have been great. It gives one great satisfaction when people notice and appreciate your good work. This series was always going to be a very challenging one because of the hype associated with it, a place in the World Test Championship final at stake, both teams coming back from impressive overseas wins, challenging pitches to officiate on,” Menon stated.
“As for the white-ball series, it was between the two top-ranked teams in the world. Taking all these factors into consideration, I am pleased that we as an umpiring team,” he added.
Nitin Menon’s remarkable accuracy could be seen where out of 40 referrals, only five of his referrals were upheld. More importantly, only two decisions were dismissed from his 35 referrals against his decisions.
Talking to him further, when he was asked about handling pressure during the match he said, ” I believe umpiring is all about mental toughness. More the pressure better is the focus. If we can give our best performances when we are under pressure, that is the true reflection oh how strong we are mentally.
“Even in IPL, we do around 14-16 gams without a break, so all these experiences has really helped me in this series. Like players, umpires also have form. I always feel that when In good form, I should do the maximum number of games without any break,” he continued.
