Nitin Menon has been on the ICC panel of umpires and has officiated on several international matches as on field umpire in India's home games and during the IPL. However, this would be his first appear in the Elite panel. Umpiring has been a cause of concern for Indian cricket and no one after S Venkatraghavan has been consistently been a part of the Elite panel with several umpires including Ravi, Tarapore, Saheba all been tried.
The 36-year-old, who has officiated in three Tests, 24 ODIs and 16 T20Is, replaces England’s Nigel Llong and is the third from his country to make the prestigious panel after Srinivas Venkatraghavan and Sundaram Ravi.
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A selection panel consisting of ICC General Manager - Cricket, Geoff Allardice (Chairman), former player and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, and match referees Ranjan Madugalle and David Boon, picked Menon, who was earlier part of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Umpires.
Nitin Menon: "It’s a great honour and matter of pride for me to be named in the Elite panel. To be officiating regularly along with the leading umpires and referees of the world is something that I always dreamt of and the feeling has yet to sink in.
"Having already officiated in Tests, ODIs and T20Is as well as in ICC events, I understand the great responsibility that comes with the job. I look forward to the challenges and will do my best at every opportunity I get. I also feel this is a responsibility on me to take Indian umpires forward and help them by sharing my experiences.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, BCCI and ICC for their support and believing in my ability over the years. I would also like to thank my family for their sacrifices and unconditional support throughout my career."
Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees: "Nitin has come through our pathway system with very consistent performances. I congratulate him for being selected to the Elite panel and wish him continued success."
The other members of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Umpires are Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Bruce Oxenford, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker and Joel Wilson.
Son of former international umpire Narendra Menon, umpiring wasn't Nitin's first choice of profession. As a youngster, he wished to play the game. He even featured in two List A matches for Madhya Pradesh in 2004.
But an opportunity to test out his umpiring acumen emerged in 2006 and Menon, on the nudging of his father, decided to have a go. Once he discovered that he had the talent for officiating matches, he knew that's where his true calling was.
"My father is a former international umpire and in 2006, BCCI conducted an exam for umpires and that was after a gap of almost 10 years. So my father told me to take a chance and give the exam saying 'if you clear, you can always take up umpiring as a profession', so I took the test and in 2006 I became an umpire.