T20 World Cup: ICC unveils umpires for India versus Pakistan clash

The ICC announced that the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup cup clash will be officiated by South African umpire Marais Erasmus and England's Chris Gaffaney while Richard Illingworth will be the TV official. The India vs Pakistan match is scheduled to be played on 24 of October at the Dubai International Stadium.

The International Cricket Council earlier today named a 20-member contingent of match officials for the 2021 edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup to be played in the United Arab Emirates. 16 umpires and four-match referees have been picked for the mega event, scheduled to take place from October 17 to November 14.

The appointment of the officials means that neutral umpires would be officiating in a 16-team tournament for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic took over. Marais Erasmus, Aleem Dar and Rod Tucker are set to officiate in their sixth men’s T20 World Cup.

The opening match of the event between Papua New Guinea and Oman will be officiated by New Zealand's Chris Gaffaney and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena. Richard Kettleborough and Ahsan Raza are the  TV umpire and fourth official respectively.  Ranjan Madugalle has been appointed as the match referee for the encounter. The officials, who will be in charge of the semi-finals and final of the tournament haven’t been announced as of now.

T20 World Cup: Full list of match officials

Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson.

Match Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath.

T20 World Cup

The Men’s T20 World Cup was initially scheduled to be played in India, but had to be shifted to the UAE in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament will start only a couple of days after the conclusion of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. Four venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Oman will play hosts to the matches in the multi-nation T20 tournament. Prior to the Super 12s, eight teams will fight it out in the Group games to qualify for the main rounds. West Indies are the defending champions of the World Cup, having won the trophy back in 2016. The Caribbean team beat England in the final after Carlos Brathwaite smashed Ben Stokes for four sixes in a row in the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Image: AP/ICC Cricket