The Asia Cup Group A match between India and Nepal at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today (September 4) will be a historic one for Javagal Srinath as he will be officiating in his 250th men’s ODI match as a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
Srinath, the former India pacer who finished his career with 236 wickets in 67 Test matches and 315 wickets in 229 ODIs, was a member of the Indian team which had reached the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2003.
Later after retiring from the game, Srinath became an ICC Match Referee.
On Monday, Srinath will become the fourth match official to reach the milestone of 250 ODIs as a match referee after Ranjan Madugalle, Chris Broad and Jeff Crowe.
Commenting on the development, Srinath said to the ICC that he was privileged to have officiated in so many matches at the international level.
“It feels great to be reaching this milestone as a match referee. It’s been 17 years on the circuit for me and quite unbelievable that I have now officiated in more ODIs than I played. I am privileged to be still associated with the game. I have had a wonderful run since my international debut as match referee in a Test match between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo back in 2006 and will strive to do my best in the coming years.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ICC, the BCCI, my colleagues on the Elite Panel as well as near and dear ones who have been with me through this journey,” he added.
Significantly, Srinath first became a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees in 2006 and refereed his first Men’s ODI in the same year and was also the Match Referee in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2007, and the Men’s Champions Trophy in 2009 and 2013.
Sean Easey, ICC Manager of Umpires and Referees, congratulated the former India quick on reaching the milestone saying: “Srinath transitioned beautifully from player to match referee and we have been fortunate to have him on our elite panel. His experience and the respect that players have for him have been of immense value. It takes a lot of commitment and sacrifice to achieve sustained success such as this. On behalf of the ICC, I would like to congratulate Javagal for reaching this special milestone.”
Notably, once again rain threat looms over the India-Nepal clash, with chances of showers on Monday at 80 percent. If once again the match is abandoned due to rain, India will join arch-rivals Pakistan to advance to the Super Four stage from Group A.