Buddhi Bahadur Pradhan, a Nepali cricket umpire, will stand in the upcoming ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia.
Pradhan is one of 18 umpires named by International Cricket Council (ICC) for the event. Javagal Srinath, Mike Procter and Chris Broad will be the match referees for the event scheduled from February 17 to March 2.
“I am very happy to get the opportunity for the second time in the U-19 World Cup,” Pradhan said. “I will do my best and hope that more such opportunities will come.”
The 34-year-old from Biratnagar is one of the members of ICC Associate and Affiliate Umpire Panel and stood in six league round matches of 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. He has already officiated 12 One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
The event will be a forum for umpires like Pradhan to display their talents to move forward. Pradhan is one of the six umpires from non-Test playing nations to be named for the event. Darrell Hair will be present to oversee accreditation and mentoring of development level umpires like Pradhan.
“It is also a chance for up-and-coming umpires to experience an international cricket event,” said ICC Umpires Manager Doug Cowie. “It’s a chance for us to identify emerging talent and provide them with intensive individual mentoring and coaching over the course of the event and also give them direction for the future.”
“The on-field umpires will be split between appointments from the Emirates International Panel of Umpires and those from the ranks of the Associates and Affiliates,” ICC said in its release.
The 16-team event includes sides from the 10 Full Members as well as the host country, and five regional qualifiers, Namibia (Africa), Papua New Guinea (East Asia-Pacific), Ireland (Europe), Nepal (Asia) and Bermuda (Americas).
The tournament will be played across four groups of four teams playing a round-robin format. The top two teams will progress to a Super League and the bottom two will go into the Plate Championship.
The top four from each of those sections will play in their respective semi-finals with the Plate Championship final taking place on 1 March and the Super League final on 2 March at Kinrara Cricket Academy (KCA), Kuala Lumpur.
During the tournament, all 10 matches being staged at KCA, including both Super League semi-finals and the final, will be televised live by ICC’s rights-holding broadcaster ESPN-STAR Sports.
Match Referees: Javagal Srinath, Mike Procter and Chris Broad (Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees)
Umpires: Peter Hartley (England), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), GA Prathap Kumar (India), Gary Baxter (New Zealand), Steve Davis (Australia), Enamul Hoque-Moni (Bangladesh), Zameer Haider (Pakistan), Clyde Duncan (West Indies), Tyron Wijewardena (Sri Lanka), Ian Robinson (Zimbabwe), Sarika Prasad (Singapore), Paul Baldwin (Germany), Roger Dill (Bermuda), Buddhi Pradhan (Nepal), Roger Dill (Bermuda), Lakani Oala (Papua New Guinea), Jeff Luck (Namibia) and Darrell Hair (Australia).