Pakistan’s Aleem Dar enters into the 200th club

Pakistan’s most renowned international cricket umpire Aleem Dar is all set add another feather to his illustrious career, as he will officiate in his 200th One-day International (ODI) match, when West Indies takes on Bangladesh on Tuesday (today) in the ongoing triangular series in Dublin, Ireland.

Dar is only the third International Cricket Council (ICC) elite panel umpire to achieve this feat, behind  South Africa’s Rudi Koertzen who has officiated in the most number of ODI matches (209), while New Zealand’s Billy Bowden is second on the list with 206 matches.

“I feel honoured to have reached 200 ODIs. Not only the number of matches, it has been a privilege to be in the elite company of some of the best match officials, to watch the best players of this century around the globe and be involved in some of the most fascinating cricket matches,” said Aleem Dar, quoted PCB.

“I remember my first ODI, which was coincidentally in my hometown of Gujranwala between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 2000. My 200th is in Dublin, and it has been a 19-year journey, sometime a tough one without my family who made a big sacrifice for my ambitions and love for the game.

“As an umpire, you make good and bad decisions, and this is all part of the game. What an umpire shouldn’t do is to misinterpret the playing conditions as that is something everyone remembers for a long time," he added.

The Pakistani also boosts the record of officiating in most number of T20 Internationals (T20I) with 43 matches under his belt.

Earlier, the Jhang born cricket official joined the list of 16 umpires and six match referees that would officiate the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019, scheduled to be held in England. Aleem Dar will be officiating in his fifth World Cup.