It’s ‘Over’ for umpire Venkat

Under the two-tiered panel system used to appoint international umpires, Venkat may be able to move back to the secondary Panel if the BCCI nominated him as one of the two umpires it provides to this group. If he was selected he could stand for future ODIs at home. He is yet to confirm if he wishes to make himself available for this Panel

SPEED’S FARWELL

His integrity and passion are of the highest order and he has helped ensure that the spirit of the game remains intact. As he moves into the next stage he will be able to reflect on his time as an international umpire with great pride and know that he is respected around the world.

— ICC president Malcolm Speed

Dar, Mallender in Elite panel

Aleem Dar, 35, from Pakistan and Neil Mallender, 42, of England, will join the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires in April following the annual performance reviews of all umpires.

At the same time, three umpires, Asoka de Silva, David Orchard and Russell Tiffin have not been offered new ICC contracts and are expected to move back to the international panel and stand for primarily at the domestic level.

The ICC assesses umpires performances over the year through:

Elite Panel for the coming year:

Brent Bowden, Steve Bucknor, Aleem Dar, Darrell Hair, Daryl Harper, Rudi Koertzen, Neil Mallender, David Sheperd and Simon Taufel

PLAYING CAREER

57 Tests, 156 wickets, 36.11 (Avg), 8-72 (BB)

AS AN OFFICIAL

73 Tests and 52 ODIs

TV umpire: 1 Test and 18 ODIs

Match referee: 5 Tests and 8 ODIs