Umpires Shahid Saikat, Richard Illingworth to officiate T20 World Cup opening clash

Richard Illingworth and Shahid Saikat (Photo: ICC)

Dubai [UAE], May 22 (ANI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday named Shahid Saikat and Richard Illingworth as the stand-in umpires for the T20 World Cup tournament opener between the USA and Canada.

Shahid will become the first Bangladesh umpire to officiate at the Men's T20 World Cup when he stands in the tournament opener on June 1.

Saikat, 47, took charge of five matches in the last edition of the tournament and has also been on the panel at two ICC Women's Cricket World Cups and the 2018 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

He will be joined on the field by Richard Illingworth, who won the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year for the third time in 2023. He also took charge of the ICC Men's ODI Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia last year.

Richie Richardson will be the match referee in Dallas, with Sam Nogajski as the TV umpire and Langton Rusere in place as the fourth umpire. Nogajski is one of five umpires making their senior men's tournament debut in June.

Rashid Riaz will make his first appearance in the second match of the tournament, between Papua New Guinea and West Indies in Guyana.

That match will also mark a milestone for match referee Andy Pycroft, who will bring up his 150th T20I.

Jayaraman Madanagopal's debut will be later that day when Namibia and Oman go head-to-head in Barbados.

The first of Allahudien Paleker's four on-field group games will be between the USA and Pakistan, while fellow debutant Asif Yaqoob will line up alongside Nitin Menon for England's clash with Scotland.

Illingworth and Rodney Tucker will be the on-field umpires for the eagerly-awaited Group A clash between India and Pakistan on June 9.

Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Richard Kettleborough, and Joel Wilson are among the other experienced officials returning for more World Cup action, with the knockout stage appointments to be announced at a later date.

Match Officials for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024:

Umpires: Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Allahudien Paleker, Richard Kettleborough, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, Ahsan Raza, Rashid Riaz, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Shahid Saikat, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson and Asif Yaqoob.

Match referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson, and Javagal Srinath. (ANI)

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