Nitin Menon Refuses to Travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2025
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India’s top umpire, Nitin Menon, has decided not to participate in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The tournament is set to begin on February 19 in Pakistan. Menon, who is India’s only representative in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, pulled out due to personal reasons.
The ICC announced the list of umpires and match referees for the tournament on Wednesday, February 5. As per reports, Menon was expected to be in the list, but he chose to withdraw before the final selection.
Reason Behind Menon’s Decision
A source from the BCCI told PTI that Menon was not comfortable traveling to Pakistan.
“The ICC wanted him to be part of the Champions Trophy, but he decided against traveling due to personal reasons,” the source said.
Apart from this, Menon was not eligible to officiate in the Dubai leg of the tournament. The ICC follows a rule of appointing only neutral umpires.
Since India will play all its matches in Dubai, Menon would not have been given a role there. Considering these factors, he decided to skip the tournament. The ICC acknowledged his decision but chose not to make any statement on the matter.
ICC Announces Match Officials
The ICC has named experienced umpires and match referees for the tournament. Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth, who officiated in the finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup, are part of the panel.
Other well-known umpires include Kumar Dharmasena, Michael Gough, Chris Gaffaney, and Paul Reiffel.
David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, and Andrew Pycroft have been named as match referees. India’s Javagal Srinath, who is usually part of the ICC’s match referees panel, will not be officiating in this tournament.
Match Officials for ICC Champions Trophy 2025:
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.
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