![Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid. (Credit: Twitter) Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid. (Credit: Twitter)](https://images.news18.com/ibnlive/uploads/2021/07/1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg?impolicy=website&width=510&height=356)
Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid. (Credit: Twitter)
Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, set to become the first Bangladeshi to umpire a World Cup match, said his breakthrough appointment was due to years of facing negative commentary with quiet determination.
Facing the world’s fastest bowlers requires steady nerves and a sure bat, but a top-class cricketer turned Bangladesh’s first World Cup umpire said it’s a “thick skin” he needs for his new role.
Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, set to become the first Bangladeshi to umpire a World Cup match, said his breakthrough appointment was due to years of facing negative commentary with quiet determination.
“We are criticised unduly most of the time… we have to have a thick skin, that’s what I developed,” 46-year-old Sharfuddoula said, head of travelling to India for the World Cup that opens on October 5.
List of Umpires for 2023 World CupNitin MenonKumar DharmasenaMarais ErasmusChristopher GaffaneyMichael GoughAdrian HoldstockRichard IllingworthRichard KettleboroughAhsan RazaPaul ReiffelSharfuddoula Ibne ShahidRodney TuckerAlex WharfJoel WilsonPaul WilsonChris… pic.twitter.com/jztLVs39wO
— CricBeat (@Cric_beat) September 25, 2023
“I always maintained a low profile… I knew that my time would come,” he added.
Off-spinner Sharfuddoula was forced to end his first-class career after just one season in 2001 due to a back injury, and joined the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) as its cricket operations manager.
READ: Kane Williamson Ruled Out of New Zealand’s ODI World Cup Opener Against England
He quit the BCB job to become an umpire in 2007, and has since stood in nine Tests, 54 one-day internationals and 43 Twenty20 internationals.
Sharfuddoula has been named as fourth umpire for the World Cup opening match between England and New Zealand at the more than 130,000-capacity mega-stadium in Ahmedabad next Thursday.
He is also the on-field umpire for five matches, including between five-time champions Australia and New Zealand at Dharamsala on October 28.
“Whenever you represent your country that brings an honour, I feel,” he said.
“Being the first Bangladeshi to officiate in the World Cup, I have the same feeling. I hope it will not be the last, but first of many”
.
Sharfuddoula said umpiring a home game was “not easy” in a country where emotion can get the better of facts.
“There is a lot of pressure, everybody is obsessed with our cricketers,” he said. “No one bothers about the umpires. That’s the biggest challenge.”
Home crowd spectators in the cricket-mad nation “don’t take it easily” when he has had to take decisions against Bangladeshi players.
“We are criticised unduly,” he said.
“If umpires are not unduly criticised, if reward is given when it is due, that will change Bangladesh cricket and cricketers as well,” he added.
FOLLOW THE LATEST UPDATES HERE: Asian Games 2023: Medal Tally, Schedule, Results, Date, Venues & More
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)