CAL set to tighten noose around unqualified umpires
LUCKNOW: Cricket Association Lucknow (CAL) has decided to rope in former Ranji Trophy and zone cricketers for umpiring in local matches so that the menace of unqualified umpires allegedly fixing the matches can be weeded out, officials said.
Former board trophy players will not be required to pass the umpiring examinations at the district level and will be paid Rs 650 per match.
The CAL will also conduct exams for umpires before the state panel exam by the UP Cricket Association in June.
“These are some measures to weed out corruption from the game in Lucknow,” CAL’s newly-appointed chief operating officer Ashok Bambi said on Tuesday while reacting over Hindustan Times expose on matchfixing by unqualified umpires in local matches.
Bambi, who himself has come across the practice in local matches in the past while being the head of the DYA Club, claimed things would be brought under control by July this year as CAL has decided to start its season from July 1.
“Change in working style is required in almost all the sectors of the game. The new team needs some time to put things in order,” said Bambi, adding, “Involvement of former cricketers in umpiring would help Lucknow cricket grow.”
He, however, assured that grading system in umpiring, separating the BCCI qualified umpires and other umpires would be back soon. “We will have a grading system in qualification of umpires. Qualified umpires may be given Rs 750 per match,” he said.
MORE VICTIMS
HT’s expose has generated a lot of heat among the ‘victims’ of unqualified umpires. One Bablu Baluja confirmed that his son was intentionally given out by an umpire at the KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium in an under-16 selection match recently. “It was a shameful act on the part of umpire, and it really discouraged my son.”
“I am fed up with the system of the game. Players who have some kind of backing make it to the district teams while others keep watching from the boundary line in frustration,” he said, adding, “I am not going to let my son suffer this frustration. I am planning to let him play cricket somewhere else, may be in Delhi.” “If I have to spend money on training etc., I would like to let my son play cricket in other states. I hope such dirty politics does not exist there. At least the standard of umpiring will be better,” said Baluja.
BIG SHARE
As per the list made available to HT on Tuesday, out of 21 umpires involved in the conduct of the C division matches, RP Singh was the only qualified umpire who supervised only three matches (Rs 1,950) while umpiring committee head Vikas Pandey, also an unqualified umpire, did duty in 13 matches (Rs 8,050), and two others Dheeraj (Rs 10,400) and Hanuman Bharti (Rs 9,100) did 16 and 14 matches, respectively. Three umpires – Rohit, Saurabh and Ratan Singh – were given just one match each.
“There is no favouritism in this. Duties are assigned as per their availability as most of our state or BCCI panel umpires were not available during the league,” umpiring committee chairman Naeem Chisti said.
Besides RP Singh, SP Singh, Vijay Sharma, Kamalkant Kanojia, Santosh Singh, Pawan Yadav and Arpit Pandey are qualified umpires in Lucknow. “We too want to do umpiring in local matches but there should be some difference in treatment to unqualified and qualified umpires,” said an umpire on condition of anonymity.
NO EXAM
Interestingly, the CAL hasn’t conducted umpiring examination at the district level for the last 25 years or so. Though it promises to hold refresher courses, classes and even exams for aspiring umpires soon, many talented ones in the lot of unqualified umpires are bound to suffer because of favouritism during the match. “I have been preparing for umpiring exams for the last many years but there is no exam at the district level. My practical knowledge is much superior to many umpires in the state or BCCI panel but due to this problem I am left with no option,” an unqualified umpire said on Tuesday.