The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced a list of 15 match officials for the Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, which is set to be held across Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from February 19 to March 9.
Interestingly, no Indians were named in the list of match officials for ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Nitin Menon, who has been a regular in all ICC tournaments in the recent past, was the most notable absentee in the list of match officials.
According to a PTI report, Menon, India’s only representative in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, has opted out of officiating in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan this month, due to personal reasons.
Notably, the Champions Trophy 2025 will be held at three venues in Pakistan — Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi — while India will play all their matches in Dubai, starting with a clash against Bangladesh on February 20, owing to security concerns.
Menon could not have stood in the matches in Dubai as the ICC follows the policy of appointing neutral umpires.
“The ICC wanted to put him (Menon) on the Champions Trophy roster. But he decided against travelling to Pakistan due to personal reasons,” a BCCI source told PTI.
The world cricket body did not comment on Menon in its statement to unveil the list of officials.
List Of Match Officials For ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025
A distinguished panel of 12 umpires will officiate the 8-team event, with six returning officials from the 2017 edition, including Richard Kettleborough, who stood in the final of the previous Champions Trophy in the UK.
Kettleborough, a veteran of 108 Men’s ODIs, will be joined by fellow umpires Chris Gaffaney, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth, Paul Reiffel, and Rod Tucker, who also officiated in the 2017 tournament.
According to an ICC press release, Dharmasena will be extending his stint of officiating 132 ODIs at the upcoming tournament, a record for an umpire from Sri Lanka in the One-Day format.
Kettleborough and Illingworth, who both stood together during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad. They are joined by Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Ahsan Raza, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Alex Wharf, and Joel Wilson, all of whom officiated at the World Cup in India.
The panel of match referees will be led by David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, and Andrew Pycroft, all esteemed members of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
Boon officiated the 2017 Champions Trophy final, while Madugalle returns after officiating the 2013 final, and Pycroft also featured in the 2017 tournament.
Match Officials
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson.
Match Referees: David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft.
