According to the latest gradation finalized by the BCCI, Nitin Menon, a renowned umpire, is one of the highest earners among Indian umpires. The board has recently introduced a new category of BCCI umpires called A+. Nitin Menon, the only Indian in the 11-member ICC Elite Panel Of Umpires, is now part of this new category along with 9 other umpires.
The A+ category also consists of four international umpires, namely Anil Chaudhary, Madangopal Jayaraman, Virender Kumar Sharma, and K N Ananthapadmabhanan, along with Rohan Pandit, Nikhil Patwardhan, Sadashiv Iyer, Ulhas Gandhe, and Navdeep Singh Sidhu, who are also included in this new A+ category.
There are 20 umpires, including senior official C Shamshuddin, who are categorized in Group A. Group B consists of 60 umpires, Group C has 46 umpires, and 11 umpires are in Group D, which belongs to the 60-65 age bracket.
The decision and categorization were made at the BCCI’s Apex Council meeting. with the input of former international umpires K Hariharan, Sudhir Asnani, and Ameesh Saheba, as well as members of the BCCI umpires’ sub-committee.
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What is the salary of the umpires?
Umpires in the A+ and A categories receive a payment of Rs 40,000 per day for officiating in a first-class game, whereas those in the B and C categories receive Rs 30,000 per day.
BCCI officials clarified that while the board has created groups, there is no specific ranking, particularly between A+ and A category umpires.
“It’s not a grade. There are groups where A+ is the new category. A+ and A, one could say, make up the best Indian umpires. Umpires in B and C categories are also good,” a BCCI official told news agency PTI.
The official said that when it comes to assigning duties for domestic events, starting with the Ranji Trophy, preference will be given based on groups. The groups have been determined after reviewing the performances of the 2021 – 2022 season.
Additionally, the official responded to the criticism faced by the Indian umpires. They also mentioned that the presence of only one Indian umpire, Nitin Menon, in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires is not a factor of undermining. The official highlighted that England has three umpires in their panel, whereas Australia has only two. Furthermore, it was pointed out that Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, and West Indies each have only one umpire in the ICC Elite Panel.
According to the official, “ We place excessive importance on the elite panel”. Specifically, England has three umpires in the elite panel, Australia has two, and the rest of the countries only have one. There is a limit to how many umpires can be included in the elite panel. The main focus should be on enhancing the quality of umpiring at all levels.
