Despite the fact that Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council, umpiring has been a neglected aspect of the country’s cricket.
There has been no grading system in place to assess umpires for a long time, and the BCB umpires’ committee is taking efforts to create an evaluation process that will fundamentally assist implement a grading system to categorize umpires. The program will go into effect next season, but the process will begin in March of this year.
Umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat is poised to preside as a neutral umpire in the bilateral series between Australia and the West Indies later this month, which is a significant step forward for Bangladesh. Umpires Masudur Rahman Mukul and Gazi Sohel are also scheduled to preside at the ICC U-19 World Cup, raising the profile of Bangladesh umpires. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) seeks to guarantee that the highest level of the country’s umpiring scene has 10-12 excellent umpires, such as those indicated above.
The status of umpiring was recently called into question when the Sylhet Division coach of the National Cricket League (NCL) said that matches were being lost due to bad umpiring.
A fact-finding committee analyzed the on-field rulings, and a few umpires were benched for the BCL. Assessments of what adjustments are required are ongoing. Even BCB president Nazmul Hassan has directed that the image of umpiring on the domestic circuit be improved.
Umpires like Saikat, Mukul, and Gazi completed the ICC Level 1, 2, and 3 umpire accreditation program in 2007, 2008, and 2009, in partnership with Cricket Australia (CA). During that time, 108 umpires completed level 1 and 2 courses, while 15 umpires, who are presently ranked first among BCB umpires, completed level 3 courses.
This time, BCB intends to embark on a massive initiative to train 600 umpires. The umpires’ committee will have 100-150 umpires in the first cohort who will do the ICC’s online umpiring foundation course.
The foundation training will include one-hour tests, and BCB expects to prepare at least 40 umpires to go to ICC Level 1 and 2 umpiring courses. David Moore, BCB’s Head of Programs, is in charge of the process and is in contact with ICC and others.
“We’re starting from scratch. We shall use ICC’s assistance with the ICC foundation course. There is now a panel-based system in place that begins with training, then moves on to district and regional levels, and so on, ending with the highest level. The grading system would be implemented beginning with the assessment procedure in March. There is now no umpire enrollment, and we will begin with this,” BCB umpires’ committee head Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu told The Daily Star yesterday.
All domestic tournament umpires will now be required to reaccredit via the ICC accreditation process, which will allow for a standardized approach to training, development, and benchmark competency, allowing each umpire to be rated or assessed. Nominees for ICC Level 1 and 2 certification courses must be approved umpires. According to a BCB official, the level 1 and 2 ICC courses would include an evaluation of umpires’ on-field judgments.
However, the pay of umpires in Bangladesh remains significantly below that of other nations. According to BCB officials, increasing pay may go a long way toward enhancing standards.
Highlights
BCB wishes to have 600 certified umpires, with a batch of 100-150 initially planned.
This year’s evaluation will begin in March with the ICC’s Umpires’ Foundation training.
Umpires who complete the ICC foundation training advance to the ICC Level 1 and 2 accreditation courses.
The BCB umpires’ committee is looking to implement an effective grading system starting next season.