Umpire's Striking Resemblance To Shreyas Iyer Steals Spotlight In PAK vs NZ World Cup Warm-Up Game, Sparks Viral Memes

Many fans on social media were convinced that on-field umpire Akshay Totre looked quite like the Indian batter Shreyas Iyer.

On-field umpire Akshay Totre during the Pakistan-New Zealand warm-up fixture at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

Source : Hotstar

The first day of the ICC Warm-up fixtures saw New Zealand take on Pakistan among the three matches scheduled. While the Men in Green won the toss and elected to bat first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, they also posted a formidable first innings total, managing a total of 345/5 in their 50 overs. The total though was insufficient in this particular contest which hasn't been granted an ODI status as teams have been allowed to try all out all the players in their squad during the course of the match.

New Zealand reached what appeared to be a stiff target at the mid-innings break with ease, winning the match by 5 wickets, finishing off the chase in 43.4 overs. While Mohammad Rizwan scored a century for Pakistan, with Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel chipping in with half-centuries, for the Kiwis, it was Rachin Ravindra who top-scored with 97, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman notched up their respective half-centuries.

However, what stole the limelight in the match was on-field umpire Akshay Totre who the netizens thought looked like Shreyas Iyer. Several memes have emerged on social media.

Take a look at some of the most hilarious reactions here:

Inner politics se pareshan hoke Shreyas Iyer ne Umpiring me debute kar diya guys..... @ShreyasIyer15#India #WorldCup2023 #BCCI #ShreyasIyer #Cricket #Trending pic.twitter.com/9VREdE1iHc

— tarun1stwal (@tarun1stwal) September 29, 2023

#ShreyasIyer is that you? pic.twitter.com/GS59SoP3cJ

— Ravi Bhatia (@ravibhatia121) September 29, 2023

Shreyas iyyer after kl rahuls 2 back to back hundreds in worldcup.#NikhatZareen #Callforwarding #Saudshakeel #Rizwan #ShreyasIyer #Palak #Pak pic.twitter.com/SkFEEIB6BC

— An ordinary man (@Cric_70803637) September 29, 2023

#ShreyasIyer part time cricketer , Full time umpire ..... !! #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/mfgccvw5IE

— Nishi Patel (@Nishi_45) September 29, 2023

Shreyas Bhai ye kis line mai aagye 😂#ShreyasIyer pic.twitter.com/T8PLs3efwY

— Tathagat Harsh (@tathagat_harsh) September 29, 2023

Credit to Shreyas Iyer man.
It takes dedication to be an Umpire today and then play a match tomorrow 🫡🫡 pic.twitter.com/FSoADmCzci

— O’Footy (@0m_Tarware) September 29, 2023