Umpiring is likely one of the hardest duties in cricket. Gamers are by no means glad with the umpire’s choice after they go in opposition to them.
The tv umpire watches slow-motion replays from totally different angles and several other instances, earlier than giving his judgment, however the umpire standing within the floor has to offer a verdict from a distance of greater than 22 yards and that too instantly after the ball has been delivered.
Pakistani umpires Khizer Hayat, Shakoor Rana, Javed Akhtar, Saleem Badar and Asad Rauf earned an important identify in worldwide umpiring, however the fame and respect earned by Aleem Dar stays unmatched.
Throughout the Pakistan Tremendous League’s (PSL) eighth version, Aleem Dar determined to step down from the ICC Panel after 19 years as one of many Elite Umpires. However he can nonetheless officiate matches performed at residence in Pakistan any time the PCB picks him to take action.
Dar has supervised a report 435 males’s worldwide matches — Exams (144), ODIs (225) and T20I (69).
Pakistan’s Ahsan Raza has been included within the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) Elite Panel of Umpires for 2023-24. He has officiated in seven Exams, 41 ODIs and 48 T20Is up to now.
Aleem Dar made his worldwide debut in 2000. He stood in his first ODI aged 32 and inside two years he turned the primary Pakistani to be appointed to the Elite Panel in 2002.
He officiated on the 2003 ICC Males’s Cricket World Cup in South Africa. He additionally stood within the last of the ODI World Cup in 2007 and 2011 and the T20 World Cup in 2010 and 2012.
He was voted the ICC Umpire of the 12 months for 3 consecutive years — 2009, 2010 and 2011. He ended Simon Taufel’s run of 5 successive awards. He was additionally nominated for the Award in 2005 and 2006, however on each events Taufel gained the honour.
Aleem Dar created the report of most ODIs as an on-field umpire (225). He surpassed former South African umpire Rudi Koertzen’s report of officiating in 209 ODIs. Former New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden is the third umpire within the 200-ODI membership.
In 2019 throughout a Take a look at between Australia and New Zealand in Perth, Aleem broke former West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor’s report of supervising essentially the most (128) Take a look at matches. Dar has now officiated 132 Exams.
The 54-year-old Dar has additionally umpired in 69 Twenty20 Internationals.
Dar, who performed 17 first-class matches, made his umpiring debut on February 16, 2000, in Pakistan’s ODI in opposition to Sri Lanka in Gujranwala, his hometown.
His first Take a look at was between Bangladesh and England in Dhaka in October 2003.
Aleem was inducted into the Elite Panel of Umpires in 2004. He has served as an umpire in 5 World Cups.
He is likely one of the most revered umpires on the planet for his correct choices.
The federal government of Pakistan recognised his providers by bestowing on him the best civil award, “Pleasure of Efficiency”, in 2011. He additionally acquired “Sitara-e-Imtiaz” in 2013.
“The World Cup 2011 was a milestone for me as none of my choices was reversed even after referrals have been taken,” he stated. “To me the essential requirement for being a profitable and revered umpire is honesty.”
About umpiring requirements in Pakistan, in an interview a number of years again, Aleem lamented the very fact that there have been high quality umpires popping out of India and Sri Lanka, however Pakistan and Bangladesh have been far behind.
In 2016, at a ceremony held in honour of Aleem for reaching the milestone of supervising greater than 100 Exams, Dar expressed his issues about the way forward for Pakistani adjudicators due to inadequate remuneration they get in home cricket.
In Pakistan, match charges for umpires are very scanty. Whereas Take a look at and worldwide cricketers in different nations are selecting to grow to be umpires as a result of higher monetary packages, the state of affairs in Pakistan is totally different, he stated.
“I might recommend the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) make investments extra [in umpiring] if it needs to enhance cricket and the usual of umpiring in Pakistan,” he stated.
“A very powerful factor is that there aren’t any umpiring establishments within the nation. Our first-class cricketers usually are not coming to this discipline,” he added.
“I believe to begin with we have to enhance the pay packages for umpires in Pakistan. In England and Australia, pay packages for umpires are so engaging that they don’t even need to come on the ICC elite panel,” he stated.
Aleem stated the PCB ought to encourage extra former Take a look at and seasoned first-class gamers to take up umpiring. “However that can solely occur when umpiring turns into a well-paid career in our nation,” he stated.
Dar needs to arrange a specialised academy for umpiring in Pakistan after his retirement.
Aleem has additionally ventured into the meals business of Pakistan and opened his first restaurant in Lahore a number of years again.
In a heart-warming gesture, kind-hearted Aleem Dar provided free meals at his restaurant for all these rendered jobless throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.