Nitin Menon, the only Indian on the elite panel of umpires, will finally get to officiate in the legendary Ashes in England in June-July. The Indore-born will be the on-field umpire for the third and fourth Tests of England vs. Australia series, which begin on June 16.
“He will be officiating in the Ashes,” an Indian Cricket Board official told PTI. The third Test will be held in Leeds from July 6 to 10, while the fourth will be held in Manchester (July 19-23). Menon will be the TV umpire for the fifth and final Test, which will be held at the Oval in London from July 27 to July 31. His partners in Leeds and Manchester will be Kumar Dharmasena of Sri Lanka and Joel Wilson of Trinidad.
Menon, who was inducted into the elite panel in 2020, could have officiated in the Ashes earlier if it hadn’t been for COVID, as the Apex Cricket Board was forced to use local umpires due to travel constraints.
“My dream series will be Ashes without a doubt. That is the only series I watch on TV. The atmosphere, the way the series is fought, is something I want to be involved in. Whether in England or Australia, I would love to be part of it,” Menon had told PTI after being elevated into the elite panel.
Menon has officiated in 18 Tests, 42 One-Day Internationals, and 40 Twenty20 Internationals so far. He’s currently working in the Indian T20 League 2023. Given the selection of neutral umpires for the Ashes, it appears that the Apex Cricket Council intends to reinstate the pre-COVID policy in all Tests.
The other umpires on the panel include Adrian Holdstock (South Africa), Ahsan Raza (Pakistan), Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand), Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Michael Gough (England), Menon, Paul Reiffel (Australia), Richard Illingworth (England), Richard Kettleborough (England), Rodney Tucker (Australia), and Wilson.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Nitin Menon’s news
— Daniel Plainview (@brown_cunt) April 4, 2023
Lord Nitin Menon ? pic.twitter.com/WtBWn0j8c7
— Oggy ? (@SirOggyBilla) April 4, 2023
Nitin Menon to Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/J7eGNlMto1
— omkar hazare (@_Satyanweshi_) April 4, 2023
mumbai indians will have the control they will decide who will clinch the ashes.
— Anant Kashyap (@theanantkashyap) April 4, 2023
Mood Reading This Tweet pic.twitter.com/jalNUU5YVf
— Fluky Cricketer (@flukycricketer) April 4, 2023
Yeah chutiya virat ko jabarjasti out dedeta har baar ???
— Anil Soni (@sonianilsoni3) April 4, 2023
virat kohli- batting krne time PAD pr lga toh ye chutiya out dedega
— Shahi Nawab (@shahinawab_) April 4, 2023
??????Raakh kar dega series ki
— PRATH (@PSKdVic) April 4, 2023
Is he the second Indian umpire after the great Venkatraghvan to do so?
— Vibhor (@dhotedhulwate) April 4, 2023
Nitin menon when he know no virat kohli in ashes pic.twitter.com/LtrrsWcfMb
— Aryan choudhary?? (@AryanSaharan10) April 4, 2023
— kay/ (@biasedasusual) April 4, 2023
