CHENNAI: It all started around 25 years ago when 12-year-old Ajitesh Argal made his U14 debut for Madhya Pradesh against Uttar Pradesh at Kamla Club Ground, Kanpur. The pace bowling all-rounder met Tanmay Srivastava, who was in the opposition ranks in similar capacity, in the city for the first time. The duo then went on to win the U19 World Cup for India in 2008 under the leadership of former India captain Virat Kohli with Argal winning the Player of the Final trophy.
More than two decades later, Argal and Srivastava will once again join forces on the field in the same city, but this time as officials.
They will be taking charge of an unofficial ODI for the first time in their careers when India A take on Australia A on Tuesday. Although their reunion is in the same city, the venue will be different this time — Green Park Stadium. Coincidentally, the two played for the same IPL franchise, Kings XI Punjab then, and even shared the room. With their playing days over, it's Srivastava who advised Argal to take a plunge into cricket umpiring and the former Baroda player is happy and grateful to have his childhood buddy as his on-field partner for his first international assignment despite it being an unofficial ODI.
"Great coincidence," Argal told this daily, adding, "We did a Cooch Behar match last year between Delhi and Karnataka in Bengaluru. Our playing career in a BCCI tournament also started together in the same city. He is more like a brother to me. If your partner is good then things become easy because umpiring is also a team game. Very thankful to the BCCI for giving us an opportunity."
The 37-year-old Argal was striving for a comeback when Srivastava informed him about the umpiring examination that the BCCI conducted two years ago. "If I remember correctly it was in the fag end of 2022. Tanmay told me about the examination, scheduled in the beginning of 2023. The BCCI holds it for former players and through it they can skip the Level 1 and directly qualify for Level 2 umpiring. Before that the thought never crossed my mind but I found it a good way to stay connected with the game," said Argal.
Argal had already officiated in the Women's Premier League and Indian Premier League matches apart from umpiring in the age group and senior domestic tournaments. The current assignment will only add to his experience and take him a notch higher in his profession.
"I was an on-field and TV umpire in the 2024 WPL and served as fourth umpire in the IPL last year. It's true umpires are under scrutiny during such high-profile tournaments but all thanks to the BCCI as it conducts workshops for match officials ahead of every tournament to keep them ready for all the challenges. Every event has different playing conditions and the Indian cricket board makes sure we are well versed with them. Besides, it also deputes experienced umpires to mentor us. ICC Elite Panel Umpire Nitin Menon played the role during WPL while S Ravi did the job in the IPL. We do TV simulations ahead of the tournament and also get videos to train for referral. The most important thing is preparation and I strongly believe if you are well prepared and have followed the process then you will have a good day in the office no matter where and what kind of tournament you are officiating in."
Argal said like players, umpires too need to be physically and mentally fit and he follows a training programme and a diet chart to achieve that goal. "During the match, a player can go out and have a break but umpires cannot. My playing days helped me a lot in this regard as I know how to keep myself fit both physically and mentally. But the workout was different when I was a player. Now, I need to work more on my core body and back as our job demands us to stand there out in the middle for almost a day. I make sure I spend 60 to 90 minutes in the gym everyday. I also meditate for mental strength. This all helps but again for it to work, you have to have knowledge of the laws of the game, which forms the basis of umpiring," said the former domestic cricketer.
Standing in his first match that will be held according to the ICC playing conditions, Argal is both excited and assured and the reason is his preparations and Srivastava, with whom he started his journey as a player more than two decades ago in the same city.