ICC elite panel umpire Aleem Dar has quashed all rumors around his retirement, as he said he hasn’t thought of calling it quits and will continue officiating until the next World Cup in 2019.
“I am not retiring. These are mere speculations. I am enjoying umpiring and I want to stand as an umpire till the next world cup in 2019,” Aleem Said while speaking as the chief guest at ‘meet the press programme’ organised by Sports Journalists Association of Lahore (SJAL) here on Wednesday.
Sporting a new bearded look inspired by Hashim Amla, Aleem also discussed the secret behind his success. He is undoubtedly the most prominent umpire in world cricket at present. The three-time ICC Umpire of the Year winner recently set a world record by officiating in 322 international matches, the most by any umpire.
“The success and honour I gained from umpiring is because of my honesty and commitment with the game and I never comprised on these principles. I don’t take a decision on assumptions, what I see I go according to that.”
Being the on-field law keeper of the game isn’t an easy task. And growing from the domestic level to become an elite panel umpire is way tougher than most people think. The hard work involved is often underestimated and overlooked. The motivation factor is what drives the local umpires to approach their goal. Citing this, Aleem has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to pay them well at the lower level so that they can see more umpires from the country in future.
“If the umpires are not well paid, then less people will take up umpiring as a profession.” He quoted the examples of England and Australia where umpires were paid to a higher level in their respective domestic seasons and they didn’t have the desire to be a part of ICC elite penal.
He also backed the use of technology in the game. Dar feels that having DRS for assistance has helped the umpires improve themselves.
“With the introduction of ‘referral’ implementation, a positive impact has been seen in the game as players and umpires relations have improved. Due to variety of shots in the T20 cricket, it was imperative to implement DRS system and ICC has taken a good decision to have it in the shortest version of the game. It is a challenge to stand as a umpire during five days of a test match as it requires best of your abilities during that time long time period,” he CONCLUDED.