Elite Panel of ICC Umpires
The Elite Panel of ICC Umpires is a panel of cricket umpires appointed by the International Cricket Council to officiate in Test matches and One Day Internationals around the world. The panel was first established in April 2002 when the ICC decided to reform the way that international cricket was umpired. The main change was that both umpires in a Test match and one of the umpires in a One Day International were now independent of the competing nations, whereas before 2002 just one of the umpires in a Test was independent and in ODIs both umpires were from the home nation. The majority of these ICC appointments are fulfilled by the members of the Elite Panel, who are generally thought to be the best umpires in the world. As such the ICC hopes to ensure that umpiring standards are as high as possible. Members of the panel stand in around 10 Tests and 15 ODIs each year.[1] The list of umpires in the panel is revised every year by the ICC Umpires Selection Panel.
History
[edit]The panel was formed in 2002 with eight members.[2] Peter Willey was invited to be on the panel, but declined the opportunity because it would have required him to spend too much time away from his family.[3] The last members of the original panel retired in 2011. The original eight panel members were: Steve Bucknor, Daryl Harper, Ashoka de Silva, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Rudi Koertzen, Dave Orchard, David Shepherd and Russell Tiffin.
Members of the International Panel of ICC Umpires stand in ODIs in their home countries, and may be appointed by the ICC to Tests and ODIs as an independent officials at busy times in the cricket calendar to supplement the Elite Panel.[1] The best performing umpires may earn promotion to the Elite Panel. Emirates sponsors the panel, and the umpires are required to wear shirts and coats which have 'Fly Emirates' printed on them whenever they are officiating.[4]
In July 2019, Michael Gough and Joel Wilson were added to the Elite panel following the retirement of Ian Gould and exclusion of Sundaram Ravi after the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[5] On 16 March 2023, Ahsan Raza and Adrian Holdstock joined the panel after Aleem Dar stepped down from the panel.[6]
In March 2024, Sharfuddoula was added to the Elite Panel after South African umpire Marais Erasmus retired from umpiring in international cricket and thus Sharfuddoula became the first umpire from Bangladesh to be included in this panel.[7]
In March 2025, Alex Wharf and Allahudien Paleker were added to the Elite Panel, after Michael Gough and Joel Wilson were dropped from the panel.[8][9]
As of 7 February 2026[update], Australia and England have jointly provided the most panel members with seven. South Africa have provided five; India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and West Indies have provided three; Sri Lanka has provided two; Zimbabwe and Bangladesh has provided just one member. No members have featured from Afghanistan and Ireland, among the full members.
Current members
[edit]As of 17 October 2026[update] cricket season, the Elite Panel consists of:[10][11][12]
| Umpire | Date of Birth | Age as of 25 October 2026 | Year Appointed | Tests[13] | ODIs[14] | T20Is[15] | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Tucker | 28 August 1964 | 62 years, 58 days | 2010 | 102 | 110 | 66 |  Australia |
| Kumar Dharmasena | 24 April 1971 | 55 years, 184 days | 2011 | 96 | 144 | 52 |  Sri Lanka |
| Richard Kettleborough | 15 March 1973 | 53 years, 224 days | 2011 | 99 | 114 | 46 |  England |
| Richard Illingworth | 23 August 1963 | 63 years, 21 days | 2013 | 84 | 109 | 43 | England |
| Paul Reiffel | 19 April 1966 | 60 years, 189 days | 2013 | 81 | 98 | 38 | Australia |
| Chris Gaffaney | 30 November 1975 | 50 years, 360 days | 2015 | 70 | 94 | 57 |  New Zealand |
| Nitin Menon | 2 November 1983 | 42 years, 357 days | 2020 | 38 | 64 | 63 |  India |
| Ahsan Raza | 29 May 1974 | 52 years, 149 days | 2023 | 31 | 66 | 91 |  Pakistan |
| Adrian Holdstock | 27 April 1970 | 56 years, 181 days | 2023 | 23 | 70 | 60 |  South Africa |
| Sharfuddoula | 16 October 1976 | 50 years, 9 days | 2024 | 24 | 73 | 60 |  Bangladesh |
| Alex Wharf | 4 June 1975 | 51 years, 143 days | 2025 | 16 | 43 | 52 | England |
| Allahudien Paleker | 1 January 1978 | 48 years, 297 days | 2025 | 13 | 34 | 73 | South Africa |
Former members
[edit]The first departures from the panel came in 2004 when Srinivas Venkataraghavan (known as Venkat) retired,[16] and Asoka de Silva, Dave Orchard and Russell Tiffin did not have their contracts renewed.[17] David Shepherd retired in 2005 following 22 years as an international umpire.[18] Darrell Hair, who joined the panel in 2003, was banned from officiating in matches involving full ICC members following the ball tampering controversy in August 2006.[19] In March 2008, following a spell officiating associate members, Hair was once again permitted to umpire full members,[20] but in August he handed in his resignation after he was only allowed to officiate in two Tests.[21]
Steve Bucknor retired in 2009, having stood in a then record 128 Tests since March 1989.[22] Rudi Koertzen retired in 2010,[23] while Mark Benson, who had joined the panel in 2006, stood down to return to domestic cricket.[24] Asoka de Silva, who rejoined the panel in 2008, was stood down again in 2011 along with Daryl Harper,[25] Simon Taufel and Billy Doctrove retired in 2012[26] and Steve Davis retired in 2015. Sundaram Ravi was dropped from the panel after 2019 Cricket World Cup.[27] Ian Gould retired from the panel after the 2019 World Cup.[28] Bruce Oxenford retired from the panel in 2021.[29]
Former elite panel members can still umpire in ODIs and international T20s. Statistics correct as of 31 January 2021.
- † Original panel member
| Umpire | Date of Birth | Joined Panel | Left Panel | Tests | ODIs | T20Is | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Orchard † | 24 June 1948 | 2002 | 2004 | 44 | 107 | – | South Africa |
| Russell Tiffin † | 4 June 1959 | 2002 | 2004 | 44 | 126 | 4 |  Zimbabwe |
| Srinivas Venkataraghavan † | 21 April 1945 | 2002 | 2004 | 73 | 52 | – | India |
| David Shepherd † | 27 December 1940 | 2002 | 2005 | 92 | 172 | – | England |
| Darrell Hair | 30 September 1952 | 2003 | 2008 | 78 | 135 | 6 | Australia |
| Steve Bucknor † | 31 May 1946 | 2002 | 2009 | 128 | 182 | – |  West Indies |
| Mark Benson | 6 July 1958 | 2006 | 2010 | 27 | 72 | 19 | England |
| Rudi Koertzen † | 26 March 1949 | 2002 | 2010 | 108 | 206 | 14 | South Africa |
| Asoka de Silva[a] † | 28 March 1956 | 2002 | 2011 | 49 | 122 | 11 | Sri Lanka |
| Daryl Harper † | 23 October 1951 | 2002 | 2011 | 94 | 174 | 10 | Australia |
| Billy Doctrove | 3 July 1955 | 2006 | 2012 | 38 | 112 | 17 | West Indies |
| Simon Taufel | 21 January 1971 | 2003 | 2012 | 74 | 174 | 34 | Australia |
| Asad Rauf | 12 May 1956 | 2006 | 2013 | 49 | 98 | 23 | Pakistan |
| Tony Hill | 26 June 1951 | 2009 | 2014 | 40 | 97 | 17 | New Zealand |
| Billy Bowden | 11 April 1967 | 2003 | 2015 | 84 | 200 | 24 | New Zealand |
| Steve Davis | 9 April 1952 | 2008 | 2015 | 57 | 137 | 26 | Australia |
| Ian Gould | 19 August 1957 | 2009 | 2019 | 74 | 141 | 37 | England |
| Sundaram Ravi | 22 April 1966 | 2015 | 2019 | 33 | 48 | 18 | India |
| Nigel Llong | 11 February 1969 | 2012 | 2020 | 62 | 130 | 32 | England |
| Bruce Oxenford | 5 March 1960 | 2012 | 2021 | 62 | 97 | 20 | Australia |
| Aleem Dar | 6 June 1968 | 2004 | 2023 | 145 | 231 | 72 | Pakistan |
| Marais Erasmus | 27 February 1964 | 2010 | 2024 | 82 | 124 | 43 | South Africa |
| Michael Gough | 18 December 1979 | 2019 | 2025 | 42 | 92 | 28 | England |
| Joel Wilson | 30 December 1966 | 2019 | 2025 | 47 | 98 | 50 | West Indies |
- ↑ de Silva was absent from the panel between 2004 and 2008.
Records
[edit]Test matches
[edit]Most Test matches as an umpire:[30]
| Umpire | Period | Matches | TV Umpire | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleem Dar | 2000–2023 | 145 | 27 | 172 | |||
| Steve Bucknor | 1989–2009 | 128 | 2 | 130 | |||
| Rudi Koertzen | 1992–2010 | 108 | 20 | 128 | |||
| Rod Tucker | 2006–present | 102 | 44 | 146 | |||
| Richard Kettleborough | 2010–present | 99 | 39 | 138 | |||
| Last updated: 17 October 2026 | |||||||
ODI matches
[edit]Most ODI matches as an umpire:[31]
| Umpire | Period | Matches | TV Umpire | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleem Dar | 2003–2023 | 231 | 68 | 299 | |||
| Rudi Koertzen | 1992–2010 | 209 | 41 | 250 | |||
| Billy Bowden | 1995–2016 | 200 | 59 | 259 | |||
| Steve Bucknor | 1989–2009 | 181 | 26 | 207 | |||
| Daryl Harper | 1994–2011 | 174 | 45 | 219 | |||
| Last updated: 6 February 2026 | |||||||
T20I matches
[edit]Most T20I matches as an umpire:[32]
| Umpire | Period | Matches | TV Umpire | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Viswanadan Kalidas | 2019–present | 109 | 14 | 123 | |||
| Langton Rusere | 2015–present | 93 | 31 | 124 | |||
| Ahsan Raza | 2010–present | 91 | 33 | 124 | |||
 Buddhi Pradhan | 2012–present | 78 | 4 | 82 | |||
| Allahudien Paleker | 2018–present | 73 | 17 | 90 | |||
| Last updated: 26 September 2026 | |||||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 About ICC – Match Officials Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ ICC's Announcement of Elite Panel in 2002
- ↑ "Shepherd takes lone stand". BBC Sport. 12 March 2002. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ↑ Emirates Sponsorship
- ↑ "Michael Gough, Joel Wilson added to ICC Elite umpires panel; S Ravi omitted". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ↑ "Aleem Dar ends 19-year old career as Elite Panel Umpire". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ↑ "Sharfuddoula becomes the first Bangladesh umpire to be included in the ICC Elite Panel". www.icc-cricket.com. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ↑ "Two new faces join the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ↑ "ICC elite panel of umpires: Gough and Wilson make way for Wharf and Paleker". www.espncrincinfo.com. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ↑ "Elite Panel of ICC Umpires". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ↑ "Nitin Menon included in Elite Panel for 2020-21". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ↑ "Adrian Holdstock, Ahsan Raza join ICC Elite Panel of Umpires as Aleem Dar steps down". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ↑ "Test records – Most matches umpired". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ↑ "ODI records – Most matches umpired". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ↑ "T20I records – Most matches umpired". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ↑ "Venkat announces retirement date". ESPNcricinfo. 5 February 2004. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ↑ "Two new Umpires graduate to Emirates Eilte Panel, three Umpires not offered new contracts". ESPNcricinfo. 6 February 2004. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ↑ Long, Jon (12 May 2005). "David Shepherd to retire from international cricket in Nelson's anniversary year". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ↑ Hair banned
- ↑ Darrell Hair reinstated by ICC
- ↑ Hair quits to focus on coaching
- ↑ Coverdale, Brydon (18 March 2009). "128 and done". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ↑ Umpire Rudi Koertzen set to retire
- ↑ Umpire Mark Benson retires from ICC elite panel
- ↑ Harper, de Silva removed from Elite Panel
- ↑ Billy Doctrove retires from international cricket
- ↑ "India's S Ravi set to be axed from ICC Elite Panel of Umpires". Hindustan Times. May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ↑ "Umpire Ian Gould to retire after World Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ↑ "Umpire Oxenford to retire from international cricket". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ↑ "Most matches as an umpire: Test". Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ↑ "Most matches as an umpire: ODI". Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ↑ "Most matches as an umpire: T20I". Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 June 2012.