Former England left-arm spinner Richard Illingworth will join Kumar Dharmasena as on-field umpire for the high-stakes India vs Pakistan clash in Colombo on Sunday, February 15, the International Cricket Council announced on Friday. The tournament will be held in India and Sri Lanka from Saturday, February 7.
The India vs Pakistan has already garnered a lot of attention after the Pakistan Cricket Board said that it might boycott the big match in solidarity with Bangladesh, who refused to travel to India due to security concerns and were in turn replaced by Scotland.
Indian umpire Nitin Menon will officiate in his fourth T20 World Cup, while Anantha Padmanabhan will be standing in his first ICC tournament ever, as announced by the International Cricket Council on Friday.
Dharmasena and Wayne Knights will serve as on-field officials for the T20 World Cup opener between Pakistan and the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground on Saturday, February 7.
Dharmasena, a former off-spinner and member of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning side, has officiated 37 T20 World Cup games, including the finals in 2016 and 2022, ranking him fourth on the all-time list.
In contrast, New Zealander Wayne Knights is making his T20 World Cup debut, much like Padmanabhan, and will reach the milestone of officiating 50 T20Is as an on-field umpire during the Group A game in Colombo.
The full match-day umpire appointments for the group stage of the 20-team tournament were announced on Friday, with Super Eight and knockout assignments to be confirmed later, according to a release by the ICC.
Elsewhere on opening day, Menon and Sam Nogajski will officiate the Group C game between Scotland and the Windies. The former was part of the on-field team for the first semi-final at the 2024 World Cup between Afghanistan and South Africa, while Nogajski’s four group matches in the previous edition included India’s clash with the United States.
