How’s that?

From early 70s to mid-80s Bhattacharjee was quite a name to reckon with in Bengal’s cricket fraternity,particularly in the prestigious Ranji Trophy. He was known for his deceptive spin,fielding acumen and a lively presence on the field. He played Ranji Trophy for Bengal and donned the shirt for several popular clubs like Sporting Union,Shyambazar,High Court and Dalhousie. After retiring from first-class cricket in 1987,he devoted full-time to club cricket and turned to his new love — professional umpiring.

Bhattacharjee’s next few years were perhaps less significant but it is this phase that catapulted him to fame among scores of other cricketer-turned-umpires. Bhattacharjee was a rare gem in the Maidan playing cricket for one club and officiating as an umpire the same season at international matches. At 56,Bhattacharjee’s double role as a cricketer-cum-umpire is still on.

The turning point in his life came in 1992 when the idea of umpiring,alongside playing usual club cricket,struck him. The very next year,the talented cricketer dumped plans of taking to coaching and instead he cleared an all-India test for professional umpiring and immediately took to officiating in first-class matches to overnight become perhaps Bengal cricket’s first established player-turned-umpire to take to officiating directly at the first-class level bypassing the rigours of standing in club matches.

Looking back at the transition and the incredible time he had spent handling both ‘jobs’,Bhattacharjee said: “The funny thing is,during my playing days I wanted to become a coach. Then one fine day I got a letter for appearing for a national umpiring test. Egged on by a friend (former Bengal cricketer and popular umpire Subroto Porel),I took it,cleared it and in no time I was umpiring in first-class and international matches while playing club cricket with relish.”

How has the journey been for the past 12 years,doubling up as a cricketer and an umpire? “Well,they are contrasting jobs,to say the least. As a cricketer,I was extremely active in my younger days,prowling in the point region — the most important position on the cricket field.”

He explained,recalling: “I never imagined then that I could stand still for six long hours as an umpire. But that’s exactly what I ended up doing. When I became a cricketer-cum-umpire,I was not only doing it regularly,I was even enjoying it thoroughly,playing club cricket and officiating in one-dayers and Ranji Trophy matches.”

Bhattacharjee is no mean achiever on both fronts. The top Bengal spinner bagged 134 wickets in a first-class career spanning 17 years. And then he’s officiated in three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) as umpire,and served as fourth umpire in a couple of Test matches at Eden Gardens.

Bhattacharjee,who is still quite keen on playing cricket alongside umpiring despite his age,can’t help but recall a funny moment from an odd club match he volunteered to officiate as an umpire.

“It was sometime in 1993. I was the leg umpire,standing at the square-leg region when the batsman lofted the ball right towards me. Instead of moving out of the ball’s trajectory,I instinctively went for a catch,only to withdraw my arms at the last moment. We all had a hearty laugh later on,” he recounted.

“But then on a serious note,it’s an advantage for a cricketer to take to umpiring. The basic instincts of having played the game come in handy when you are umpiring. It gives you an edge over other umpires who haven’t played cricket,or those who have played long before and have left it for umpiring. At the end of the day,I do take pleasure in both playing and umpiring. I have had a great time.”