Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid first Bangladesh umpire to enter ICC elite panel, Nitin Menon enters fifth year

Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and Nitin Menon make history in ICC Elite Panel of Umpires.

Bangladesh's Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid on March 28 became the first from his country to be inducted into the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires while India's Nitin Menon entered the top tier for an unprecedented fifth time.

Indore-based Menon, who joined the elite panel at the start of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, remains the only Indian in the 12-member club.

The 40-year-old is only the third Indian to be part of the elite panel after S Ravi and former India spinner S Venkataraghavan, who performed on-field duties in 33 and 73 Tests respectively.

Menon has been an on-field umpire in 23 Tests, 58 ODIs and 41 T20s (122 overall) and is expected to surpass Venkataraghavan's overall match tally of officiating in 125 games in the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean.

Menon had also realised his dream of officiating in the Ashes last year.

On the other hand, Bangladesh's Sharfuddoula was elevated from the ICC International Panel of Umpires, replacing the now retired Marais Erasmus.

Sharfuddoula has been on the International Panel since 2006 and his first international appointment was an ODI between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Mirpur in January 2010.