It is a big leap forward for C Shamshuddin, who is the lone Indian among the five new third umpires appointed to the International Cricket Council’s international panel announced in Dubai on Thursday. The 42-year-old Hyderabad official, who made his international debut as on-field umpire in the India-England Twenty20 match in December last year before officiating in the first T20 match between India and Pakistan at Chennai, has made impressive strides ever since he made his debut in Ranji Trophy in the 2009-10 season and within a short period of time he made his mark before being elevated to the top.
Shamshuddin was mighty thrilled to be named in the panel. He will be the third umpire from the city after VK Ramaswamy and Ivaturi Sivaram to officiate in international matches. Sivaram said he was very happy for Shamshuddin. “ He is confident and steady. I’m sure he will make it big one day. He is dedicated and has a positive approach towards the game. This will help him in the long run,” said Sivaram.
A late entrant to the game, Shamshuddin played as an all-rounder in the in the lower division in 1987-88 season. He also took wickets and played for Finecab in the ADivision (two-day) in the 1995-96 season. But he took to umpiring more for pocket money. He began to go through the rules and became passionate about the rules. Although he failed to qualify in his first attempt, he bounced back with better preparation. He became more conversant with rules and began to officiate in more number of local matches. This helped him to gain confidence. His first BCCI assignment was in 2007 for the Tamil Nadu-Goa under-22 match at Visakhapatnam and there has been no looking back for him since then. He makes a lot of preparation before a match. Self-confidence is important for any umpire. He tries to be cool and mentally strong in tight situations.