My favourite umpire is a dead
one, said a veteran sportsman when asked to name the best umpire of his time.
At times, fans too vent their anger at umpires when decisions go against their
team. Often people think that only players have the central role in the game,
forgetting that it is the umpire who controls the proceedings “It is a
hot-seat. It is challenging and one must have passion for the role,” says
Nandan, a Bengaluru-based umpire, who recently officiated in English county
cricket.
“It is not
just about raising the dreaded index finger, umpiring means shouldering huge
responsibility towards players, the cricket boards and all those who watch the
game. Above all, the umpires have the responsibility of ensuring that the game
is played in the right spirit,” he contends.
Nandan, who
works as Senior Manager with HAL’s Aircraft Division in Bengaluru, is an
engineer from the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE). With
excellent academic grooming – he stood ninth in Karnataka at the 10th Board
exams – family and friends expected him to flourish in studies. However, his
obsession with cricket changed his life when he got selected to represent
Karnataka at the age of 19 as a wicket-keeper and opening batsman.
He got his
chances and played the semi-final against Delhi in a short cricketing career.
He was in the famous Karnataka squad captained by Brijesh Patel that defeated
the mighty Bombay in the 1983 Ranji final. He accepts that it was never easy to
play under the shadow of flamboyant players such as Sadanand Vishwanath who was
the main keeper and the opening batsman for the State. “I had limited
opportunities but that’s how the game and the luck goes”, he feels.
Nandan also
captained Bangalore University and South zone universities and played for the
HAL cricket team for 14 years after joining HAL in 1986 as a sportsman. He took
up to cricket umpiring in 1995 and qualified for the Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) panel in 1997 and further made it to the All India panel of
umpires in 2005-06. “When it comes to umpiring, the decision making is
important. One has to be mentally strong and be prepared to deal with
conflicting situations.” he says.
Nandan
officiated in the One-day women’s international match between New Zealand and
India in 2004. He has been officiating in IPL editions . In February 2015, he
stood in first class games in South Africa. He was a TV umpire at the 2014 Asia
Cup held in Bangladesh. “We are proud that he is the only Ranji Trophy BCCI
panel umpire from HAL,” says T. Suvarna Raju, CMD, HAL.
Is it
important to have cricket experience to be a good umpire? “Not really. Having
played the game it does help. But umpiring gives different perspective. It is
about understanding the laws of the game and technique of umpiring. As an
umpire one has to keep oneself up-to-date with changing laws and playing
conditions. You have only a split second to decide and you must be correct all
the time,” he contends.
Talking
about age, Nandan says: “I am 51 now and usually we can carry on till 60
provided we keep ourselves fit and have excellent eye sight.”
(Above: Nandan seen with Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena)
Can he make
it to the top league of international umpires? “I keep my fingers crossed
because there is so much competition. Whatever happens, I would always be happy
to accept this unique challenge of managing the game of cricket,” he says.
The BCCI
also made good use of Nandan’s excellent engineering background by asking him
to serve the Indian cricket team as a computer analyst to support John Wright
during his tenure as India coach.
“I had to be
on my toes as Wright would demand all kinds of data and the numbers on the
performance of the players immediately after the match. It could be number of
good length balls bowled by a particular bowler or balls left alone by the
batsman. I am thankful to Wright that he acknowledges my contribution in his
book,” says Nandan.
Article was also published in The Hindu, August 10, 2015.
