CHENNAI: When he walks out to officiate India's fifth T20I against New Zealand at Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, he will join a distinguished list — umpires who have stood in 150 international matches. Just to put the figure in context there is no Indian who has served as an on field umpire in as many matches. Former India captain S Venkataraghavan is second on the list with 125 matches.
He may not be playing cricket for India, but Nitin Menon is a household name in the country. He is the only Indian representative in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires. The 42-year former Madhya Pradesh cricketer joined the distinguished panel in 2020 and has been a regular part of it since then.
Menon started as a cricketer but could play only two List A matches before foraying into umpiring. Speaking on the big switch, he had told this daily two years ago that his father, who was also an umpire, advised him to have an alternative career as a match official. "When I was playing, till U-19 I was doing well. But when I went past that stage, the performances were not that good so I was dropped from the team. I was struggling to get a place in the Madhya Pradesh team. That time my father gave me advice that the BCCI was going to conduct examinations for umpires, so why don't you appear in it and have an alternative career. So I went ahead, took exams and cleared it. Actually, I found umpiring more challenging and more rewarding than playing cricket," Menon had said.
Before the change, he had played cricket for 15 years. More importantly, he was only 23 when he took the risk. But as the saying goes — all's well that ends well. The risk paid off as Menon is now not only the leading umpire from the country but also a role model to many, especially the former cricketers who have switched to the other side of the fence.
As far as his umpiring career is concerned, Menon has been officiating in the domestic circuit since 2006. The big day eventually arrived, though after 11 years of toil, when he made his international debut as an umpire. Menon along with Anil Chaudhary served as the on field umpire in the first T20I between India and England held in Kanpur on January 26, 2017. India might have lost the game but Menon's journey has begun. He then got his first ODI when Afghanistan took on Ireland in their adopted home at Greater Noida on March 15, 2017.
It still took him more than two years to officiate in his first Test. The one-off Test between Afghanistan and West Indies in Lucknow in November 2019 became his first international match in the longest format of the game. Six years and a few days later, Menon is standing tall among his compatriots and leading the chart. He has officiated in three T20 World Cups (2021, 2022 and 2024) and the upcoming edition of the marquee event jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka will be his fourth. Menon also officiated in the 2023 ODI World Cup and was reserve umpire of the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa last year.
Apart from international matches, Menon has officiated as an on field umpire in 112 Indian Premier League matches so far. He broke Australia's renowned umpire Simon Taufel's record when he officiated the 2024 IPL final and has umpired in seven consecutive finals so far.
A lot was going through Menon's mind when he thought of the big switch more than two decades ago. But given his stint as an umpire, he would be more than content when he walks into the sunset with the Thiruvananthapuram T20I serving as an important event in his illustrious career.