New Delhi, Feb 9 (PTI) Having been a bowler in his playing days, Anantha Padmanabhan had a natural tendency to rule against the batter when he first made the transition into umpiring, continuing an alliance that has now spanned 40 years.
The 57-year-old Padmanabhan, a former first-class leg-spinner from Kerala, is now a distinguished umpire associated with the BCCI and ICC. What sets his story apart is that he is making his ICC debut as an umpire after four decades of association with the sport.
For someone whose journey defines patience, Padmanabhan says that acceptance is the key to success.
“My journey with cricket is almost 40 years. From the age of 15, I’ve been playing, starting with Under-19. From 18, I’ve been playing First-Class, so 17 years I played First-Class, I played about 105 First-Class games,” Padmanabhan told BCCI TV on Monday.
Promoted to the ICC’s international panel of umpires in 2020, he has extensive experience in domestic cricket, including the IPL, and made his ICC debut during the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Opening up his incredible journey and the transition to umpiring, he said India is the best place for those looking to make a career out of umpiring thanks to the excellent infrastructure put in place by the BCCI.
“BCCI, or India, has the maximum number of umpires as well as domestic matches happening over the world. We have about 180 First-Class umpires, more than 2000 matches happen in a year for BCCI. It’s quite an unbelievable number.
“So, to get an opportunity, you need a lot of luck as well. We need to work hard. And the infrastructure that has been provided to us even in the domestic games, whether it is TV umpiring… because TV umpiring is also very important these days, and we cover even that with DRS. So we get a lot of opportunities from BCCI.” He was promoted to the ICC international panel of umpires after Nitin Menon moved to the apex body’s Elite Panel.
Standing for four days in sun is a tough job but Padmanabhan said being a bowler in his playing days helped him immensely when he switched to umpiring.
“Umpiring, though it looked a little bit tougher to start with because we have to stay counting the balls, doing the hard work, staying in the sun for four days.
“I felt it was much easier for me because I could relate, as I was a bowler, and I had to bowl for the entire day and I had to stand. So, if I could that, I felt I could do this as well. So I tried umpiring.
“The first year was a bit of a challenge because, being a bowler, for me everything looked to be out. Because it was the bowler’s thing. So, wherever it was hitting I felt that…
“Then, fortunately, in the second or third year BCCI came with six cameras for every game. That’s what I said previously. The opportunities the BCCI has given is like, immense.
So we started seeing that. Seeing is believing, right? But when we had that TV in front of us then I knew that I was getting it wrong.” Padmanabhan was the first player from Kerala to achieve the double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets in the Ranji Trophy.
On umpiring he added, “So, first that acceptance had to come… once that acceptance comes, then you grow.
“This is the best place to do umpiring. If you can get through this grind and come out of this and then come to the international panel, I think you are ready. You can handle any pressure, any sort of crowd here, the challenging wickets we get here.
“I think when we come to the international panel, it could be tough to start with, it could be a cruel place, you get about maybe 5 or 6 (decisions) wrong at times.
“But still, if you overcome those moments, those failures, and move on with your umpiring, I think that will be the best thing an umpire can do. So, that will be my message to the young umpires.” Padmanabhan, who finished his playing career with 344 first-class wickets and nearly 2,900 runs, has officiated in over 100 first-class matches, including multiple Ranji Trophy finals, and has been a regular umpire in the Indian Premier League since 2016. PTI AH AH KHS KHS
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